The Ballet Dancer
by TheEmoChild
Summary: In order to get into the dance college he wants to, Luffy has to cross-dress as Lucy. Lucy gets quickly popular as a sweet, uncommon girl whose gaze catches the heart of anyone. Ace, in other hand, is the biggest prankster of the school, a nuisance for everyone. Now how do these two meet and fall in love? AceLu, KidLaw, ZoLu, MarAce, LucLu, DoflaLaw. Rated M for future chapters!
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for boring chapter and lack of other pairings, will get more interesting later. **

**~Enjoy~**

* * *

So, have you ever pondered on what girls like? Like, for instance, what do they really do? What do they wear? What do they eat? What do they love? What do they despise? It all seemed hopeless to answer for a person like him, a person who never bothered of things like what he was wearing or eating. Naturally, he was aware of what he himself loved and despised, but that was easy. He was a guy, not a girl. If he was a girl, then wouldn't he have to like other things to be popular around the other girls? Never had he encountered with a girl who liked to eat tons of meat for example. Or maybe some of the girls he had met really liked to eat tons of meat, but maybe it wasn't suitable for a girl to do that, so she had pretended that she didn't like to eat meat at all. Or maybe she hadn't simply liked meat? No, that was impossible. Everyone likes meat. Girls were too complicated for him. How on earth was he supposed to act like one?!

If you now wanted to know why the hell Monkey D. Luffy of all people on earth should pretend to be a girl, then there's a completely logical explanation. Or whatever. Perhaps you don't consider it logical. But it is. At least in Luffy's opinion it is. Luffy had always dreamt of becoming a ballet dancer, one of the best ballet dancers in the world, on top of that. But the first problem struck him when his wicked grandfather decided to move from Tokyo to some absurd village somewhere in nowhere. And what was the problem with the small town then, you wonder? Well, of course, the town being a tad smaller it naturally had smaller schools. This meant fewer clubs, which meant no ballet club for boys. And in order to get into to the dance college that he was aiming for, he had to participate in a club for at least one year. Of course, in order to get into the ballet line in the college, he had to participate in a ballet club. Living with the horrible luck he did, he of course had decided to go in the ballet club for his senior year. And that had been the year when his devious grandfather had come up with the splendid idea to move to no man's land. What a glorious timing, old geezer!

So, what do girls do? They wear make-up don't they? Mascara? Isn't that a type of make-up? Girls really were too complicated. His thin hand grasped around the panther patterned box. Super lashes, it said. Extra thick. Helps the lashes to grow. Well… Girls like panther patterned things, don't they? Luffy sighed, feeling like giving up with the whole project 'Lucy Waterstone'. Now you wonder who Lucy Waterstone is? Well, that would be none other than Luffy as a girl. He had come up with the surname when he had listened to Robin, who recently had travelled to England and bought books from a bookstore called Waterstone's. It was a smart name, in Luffy's opinion. He wouldn't get too confused with people calling him Lucy instead of Luffy, the names were so similar he'd grow used to it in no time! Oh, what was this? Eye-shadow? Do girls like this then? Must like. It's glittering after all. Shiny, glittery, fancy thingy.

One of the facts that concerned Luffy the most was the fact with how the apartment should look like. He was lucky that Garp mostly wasn't at home, maybe only once a month, but Luffy had to be prepared for sudden visits from the old man. What should he tell his grandfather if he came home one day and Luffy would be dressed as Lucy, with friends in his, or in this case her room? Luffy had already started to redecorate his room to a more girlish style. It was hopelessly difficult, though. He had bought fluffy, pink pillows and changed the blankets into pink and purple ones. The walls were white, a neutral color, which meant that it didn't have to change. And that was about how far he had come on the project 'Lucy's room'. So basically, he was done. Or done in his own opinion. He still needed to hide some of his action figures and racing cars. They weren't exactly something a girl would collect on, would she? But the problem with that issue was that the stuff didn't have a place to hide in. Maybe he could solve that problem after that he was done buying clothes.

So, buying clothes wasn't an easy task either. Luffy had to keep in mind that he didn't have breasts, so those whorish clothes were no option. Though Luffy was stupid and innocent, he still had been smart enough to realize that he couldn't walk around completely flat-chested, trying to pretend to be a girl at the age of 17. The cashier had given Luffy a weird look when he had walked to the counter with many water bras and women's briefs. Luffy hadn't understood how weird it must've looked for a guy to buy women's underwear, until the cashier had stated that Luffy's girlfriend was lucky to have a rich and considerate boyfriend. It had almost slipped through Luffy's mouth that he didn't have a girlfriend and that he was utterly confused of what the lady was saying. Thank god he had just decided to nod and walk away instead. Wise decision that one. So, what kind of clothes do girls wear? Dresses and stuff, right?

After a long day of pain and suffering, Luffy finally was able to lie back for a brief moment. The plastic bags were lying around in the room, looking pitiful yet mighty. His room looked as if it was occupied of evil plastic bags from girl's stores. Luffy's dark, captivating glanced up to look at the cute clock he had bought. The Hello Kitty-clock was half past four. The slim teen tended to eat dinner around six. Dinner had always been a big problem in his life, mostly because he couldn't cook. Luffy wasn't bad at making sandwiches though, he usually brought his own made sandwiches to school as lunch instead of buying food at the cafeteria. But he mostly did that to save money. Garp was a greedy bastard. But back to the issue. What was he going to eat for dinner tonight? Pizza? Chinese? But he had to save money too. Damn. Maybe he just should try these clothes on instead; he hadn't bothered to do it in the store. At least he'd kill off time and he needed to know whether the clothes would fit or not. School would start within a week and he had signed up as Lucy Waterstones after all.

It was hard to choose what he should try on first. Luffy started with filling one of the water bras with water and putting it on. He looked at himself in the mirror for a while, almost freaking out at the first glance. He looked freaking scary! The abs looked so weird when he had his 'breasts'! Could a girl even be this muscular? Well, he could always blame it on that he trained so much. Still, it looked so creepy and wrong. After a while of shock, Luffy decided to challenge himself and put on the women's briefs. They were indescribably uncomfortable. Horrible.

"How can girls move in this?" Luffy exclaimed angrily in front of the mirror, as he viewed himself with an unhappy expression. His hand grabbed onto the bra. Women's undergarments were too uncomfortable to be true. And he looked so stupid on top of that. A supplied sigh noised through the bedroom as he searched for something to pull over the hideous underwear. "What's this? A dress? Don't girls like these kinds of stuff? Maybe I should wear this for the first day?"

In some way Luffy was unlucky that the school he was attending to didn't use school uniforms. One of the few schools in the whole, wide country. The school was small and pitiful, but since it was an international school, it had demanded to get rid of the dress code. The fact that Luffy was from Brazil always made his grandfather insist that he should attend to an international school, to make him more linguistic. That had narrowed the options of schools in the district to one. So basically, this whole situation was only because of his selfish grandfather. Why had they even moved from Brazil to Japan in first hand? Not that Luffy remembered anything from the times in Brazil, they had arrived to Japan when Luffy had been three years old. But back to the subject, if the school he was attending t would have had a dress code with a school uniform then everything would have been so much easier!

"So this is how it feels to be a girl, eh? Uncomfortable", Luffy continued to talk with himself. He viewed himself carefully as he spun around in circles. The dress was white with small, blue flowers on it. It looked slightly boring. After a while of struggling with one of the plastic bags he put on a vest too. Was this too boring too? A necklace and a scarf maybe? Luffy continued to put stupid accessories on himself. Bracelets, socks, shoes, rings, a straw hat. In the end he was satisfied, though he shouldn't have been, because the combination was horrible. Absolutely horrific. "Now this is more like it! But, I haven't put make-up on yet! I should practice so that I know what… umm… what was it again? … Look! Yeah, what look I'm going to use!"

The first three attempts were completely horrible. He washed away and put on more, and washed away and put on more. The fourth time Luffy decided to try on gluing false eyelashes on his real lashes. And to surprise the whole wide world, the small teen really managed to glue them nicely on. Luckily he had bought many false eyelashes, so he afforded to screw up and try again. But he didn't have to try again, because he had succeeded on the first try. Luffy took a long time to view himself in the mirror. He thought the long eyelashes looked so realistic and beautiful that he was about to die. How could he look so pretty all of sudden? The long, false eyelashes gave him the courage to try the mascara for the fourth time. And though it didn't look _that_ good, it still didn't look _that_ horrible either. In fact it looked like a girl would have done it. A _clumsy _girl that is.

Somewhere in the way to become Lucy, Luffy became completely giggly and ridiculous. He started to giggle and roll around on the floor. The somewhat scrawny teen had no idea of where the giggly feeling had come from. It had just started to spread across his slender body and tickle him to the point that he just had collapsed to the floor and burst out in hysterical laughter. The world looked so funny and colorful during that moment. Everything was so much fun during that moment. Even the lamp looked funny. But then the giggly feeling wore of and he was thrown back into the harsh reality. There he lay on his own bedroom floor, dressed like a girl. It felt like a needle pierced through his heart when he was reminded that he was going to a new school and that all of his old friends were left behind. It had already been a few weeks since he had moved to the weird small town, but he was still not used to it. The day had been so hectic that he had been capable of forgetting everything depressing in his life. But now, when only silence and the echo of his own giggles were facing him, he was reminded. At first he felt like crying, but then the sadness was quickly exchanged with anger. It all was that selfish, old geezer's fault after all!

After the weird storm of emotions rushing through his body, he finally managed to calm down and sit up on his bed instead of lying on the floor among the plastic bags. He sat there, looking at himself in the mirror. He really looked like a girl. No one would recognize it, right? No one would realize that he was a boy? Luffy was really lucky that he had an extraordinary light voice, people usually mistook him for a girl when they talked with him over the phone. So there was no way anyone would recognize. Luffy had already arranged a plan of what he would do before and after P.E. class, when everyone would change in the locker rooms. He would simply go and change in the bathroom, and when someone would ask about it, he would say that he was shy because of his atopic skin. And if they were to have swimming lessons in school he would swim in those swim shorts meant for girls, or in a swim skirt. Then his crotch wouldn't be visible. Sometimes Luffy really felt smart, though deep inside he knew he was stupid. Or was he? No, he couldn't be! If he was capable of forming plans this cunning and intricate, then there was no way that he could be stupid! Right?

"Hmm… I'm hungry though… I wonder what I'm going to eat for tonight…", Luffy whined for himself, his hand rubbing his stomach. The slim teen then decided that the dress-up game was over and changed back to his earlier clothing. He didn't bother to remove the make-up yet though, he now knew how much trouble it was to remove that shit. After the big struggle to come out of the dress and the undergarments, he clothed himself in comfortable 'boy-clothes' and went to the living room. His stomach made the unmistakable sound of hunger as his feet traced over the parquet floor. Luffy's slender body collapsed on the red fitment in the apartment, and then he curled up into a small ball. He was tired and had no motivation to call for any pizza though he was dying of hunger. "I don't feel like eating the same things over and over again…"

Mumbling for himself on the sofa, Luffy decided to turn the big, flat TV on. Thank god that Garp was a rich man, at least. Though Garp didn't use the TV or the fancy things he bought, he still was a bit of a materialist, and thus loved to own things. For Luffy it was nice to have access to all the fancy stuff. All he had to do was to make sure that he didn't damage the stuff too much. Sometimes it felt like the old man only bought the stuff because he liked to look at them, not because he liked to use them. Garp did most likely not know how to use any of the stuff either, so that was probably a reason to why he didn't use them.

During evenings when all you really have to do is to kill off time there is nothing interesting on TV. It always is like that, isn't it? At least that was what Luffy had realized over the past years of his life. Always during the evenings when none of his friends had been available and when he had had nothing to do, there had been nothing interesting on TV either. It was like an evil chain reaction of some sort. For Luffy, loneliness had always been the worst thing that could happen to a human being. Yet, he had been dwelling in it for the past weeks. The scrawny teen suspected that it was starting to damage his physical health too. The first days he always was anxious and a tad scared to be alone. In Tokyo his friends had always come to visit him before the anxiety had developed into sadness and worry. But now it was beyond that stage, and the stage after that. It was on the stage whereas he was starting to get messy and inaccurate, even more inaccurate than usually, and when he seriously was starving to death but simply couldn't eat. It was like the loneliness was feeding him instead of real nutrition.

"Hum… I really am bored. What should I do? What should I do?" during the first week alone Luffy had started to talk with himself. Of course, the scrawny teen had texted and chatted with his friends in Tokyo, and he had been outside of the house for a jog and to do groceries. But he still felt lonely, and he still felt like he was the only one he could talk to. He didn't want to bother the cashier in the convenience store and neither did he want to stop each pedestrian and ask how their day had been. It felt unnatural for him. "I am starting to feel a little weird again. Maybe I should just sleep again? When I sleep time flies by. But I'm not tired yet. So… What should I do?"

Drumming his fingers against the sofa, he bit his lips and tried to concentrate on whatever there was on TV. Luffy found it ridiculously boring though. Maybe he should check if some of his friends were online? In the middle of his frustration the doorbell rang. Quick as a fox he flung up from the couch and ran to the door. Almost banging the door at whoever was standing behind it, he smiled stupidly and waited for the person to be revealed. When he finally saw the person, or rather woman in front of him he became red of embarrassment. Why was _she _here of all people?

"Eh, Luffy? Really? Why are you wearing fake eyelashes and mascara?"

"I-It's not what it looks like, N-Nami!"

"Not what it looks like?" the orange-haired woman stated sarcastically. She pushed Luffy gently to the side, letting herself into the apartment. "Wow, this flat is much bigger than the one in Tokyo! Well, I suppose it's much cheaper to live here…" She mumbled for herself while she took off her shoes. Luffy backed away a little, cheeks hot of embarrassment. Damn… The situation was way too awkward to be real. "So, Luffy, I always knew you swung that way, but… I never really thought you'd really go as far and cross-dress!"

"I have an explanation, really!" Luffy whined as he ran after his friend who had gone into the living room. Nami sat down on the red sofa, watching the TV with sloppy eyes. Travelling with the train from Tokyo took several hours, Luffy knew that. So, why had she bothered to come here all the way? "And why are you even here?"

"What kind of question is that!?" Nami hit Luffy playfully on the head, as the slim teen had also sat down on the sofa. "Of course I came you dork! I was worried over you! And I wanted to know how things were!" The beautiful woman shook her head while she crossed her arms over her chest. "And besides, I got the day off from the café and thus had nothing better to do. I just came here without any sensible plan. I happened to be at the train station and I felt like seeing your dumb face once in a while."

"Hey! My face is _not _dumb!" the teen with a scar underneath his left eye exclaimed. Nami giggled amusedly at the sudden outburst, uttering a small 'Sorry' in between the laughter. Then there was a brief moment of just awkward silence. Luffy fidgeted slightly on the sofa, as only the sound of the TV was heard. "Or maybe right now it is… I'm not so good at this make-up-thingy."

"So, care to tell me _why_ overall you are wearing make-up?"

* * *

Rain smattered down from the dark sky, which just a few hours ago had been naked of clouds. The sound of the smattering rain filled the streets that were supposed to be empty. Yet, one of the lanes weren't as empty as it should be. Instead of being empty, a small crowd of people had gathered there. It was like the small crowd had cornered one individual. The rain continued to smatter down against the asphalt, the noise of incoming thunder echoed through the town. People were inside, small children hugging their mothers, friends sticking close to each other. But then there was this small group, that had cornered one freckled, shaking individual.

"Where's our money?" the leader of the small gang held a pipe in his hand, pointing it at the handsome, beaten up youth in front of them. The rest of the gang seemed ready to attack at any minute. The handsome youth only spitted back at them.

"Like I would know, I spent it all", he replied with a cocky smirk upon his freckled face. His body was covered in bruises and small cuts. He panted slightly of the pain as he continued to smirk cockily at the gang. The leader seemed to grow furious of this comment. He took the pipe and held it against the youth's throat, holding the youth firmly against the brick wall of the house. The rain continued to smatter as the freckled youth started to cough of the pain. "I don't have it okay!?"

"You stole it from us one month ago, you shitty rat!" the leader pressed the pipe harder against the throat, making the freckled one cough even more violently. Hands tried to grasp around the pipe to protect himself, but he failed. "You had one month time to pay us back, Ace!"

"It's not my fault you left it lying here in the lane!" Ace hissed at the man in front of him. It was true. He had found it lying on the lane. But part of the truth was also that Ace had known that it had been a gang's territory, and that Ace had beaten up the guy who had been holding the money and ran away with it. Back then Ace had known exactly what he had gotten himself into, but he had also needed the money. "I promise I'll get it back to you if you give me more time!"

"Stop screwing with me!" the leader kicked Ace in his crotch, making the teen fall down of the sudden pain. The rain would not cease, as it smattered down in a manner that seemed even more violent than before. The gang leader smirked as he pulled the freckled teen up again by his hair. "We were generous and gave you one month to retrieve back the money and give it to us, but you failed. But you know, Ace-kun, you could always pay us back in other ways than by just giving us money."

"Like what? Giving you a blowjob? No thanks", Ace chuckled dryly, drying away some of the blood from his face. How the hell did he always get into the same kinds of situations? And why the hell were all the people always requesting the same things from him? He was _not _gay for god's sake! But then again, for people like these it most likely didn't matter which gender you were, as long as you could please them well. "I would never even bring myself to touch someone as ugly as you."

"Is that really how you should talk to someone who has the upper hand of the situation?" the smirk on his face only grew wider as he pushed the younger man against the brick wall again. Fire-Fist Ace was not a bad looking guy, not at all. He had seen the nice features the teen was hiding underneath that hoodie of his. "All you are is a crazy pyromaniac, no one will care if you get a little hurt. No one will care if you went missing for a couple of days either…" The leader motioned his underlings to hold the struggling teen still. Ace hissed and spitted at them angrily.

"I can report this to the police, you know!" Ace threatened them furiously, trying to kick them away from him. The leader of the gang continued to smirk as he proceeded closer. Hands travelled underneath his clothes, touching him on his stomach. The freckled teen struggled more, not giving up, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed to be.

"Report what? That you stole money from people and that they got mad with you and hurt you?" the leader snickered, some scattered chuckles were heard across the small crowd of dirty, horny men. Ace bit his lip of frustration. This time there was no way out of the situation, was there? This time he really was screwed. Damn his life! Damn himself! Damn everything! "Do you really think the police would listen to you after that you report how you stole money from a dangerous gang? Do you think that the police really are that mighty that they dare to go against us? Don't be stupid Ace, this town is poor. It doesn't have enough resources to have the police go against gangs. The gangs are too many."

"If you are that mighty then you shouldn't bother about that money!" the freckled teen tried to kick the leader who was touching him. This situation really was hopeless. Rain continued to fall from the dark sky. How much was the clock again? Most likely something past midnight. Why had he even been so stupid that he had gone out during the night again? "The amount wasn't even that big."

"But I don't like it when someone takes something that belongs to me. That's unfair, isn't it? To go and take someone else's stuff", the leader leaned closer, rubbing his thigh against Ace's crotch. Damn! Why couldn't they just leave him alone already?! Ace spit at the man in front of him, but the leader didn't seem to care. The two others holding Ace still only seemed amused. What the hell was wrong with these people?! "So that's why I think it's alright if I take something from you too."

"Hey! What's going on there!?"

Everyone turned on their heads to look at the new individual shouting from the street. It appeared to be a blonde man, holding an umbrella and a suitcase. He was wearing a sloppy suit of some sort and his tired blue eyes seemed angry. The gang members quickly backed away from Ace, realizing that they would be screwed if a citizen would see them do what they were doing. Then Ace would have a witness who could help him to get them all sued.

"I-It's nothing, really!" the leader said hastily, backing slowly away from Ace. "We were just fooling around, nothing serious." The leader recognized the blonde man quickly. It was Marco, the man who stood Whitebeard the closest. And no one wanted to get involved with Whitebeard and his company, they would beat you up right away. The look on their leader's face made the rest of the gang realize that whoever this man was, he was someone they should avoid.

"Nothing?! These guys tried to rape me! Again!" Ace said angrily, standing up from the wet asphalt. He panted a little, as he straightened up. He pulled down the hoodie and the T-shirt that the gang leader had pulled up. The freckled teen spoke to Marco as if they knew each other. Did they? If they did then the whole gang was screwed for even looking at Ace. "I'm really getting fed up with them! The next time I'm going to call Oyaji!"

"Ace? Is it you? Again?" Marco asked curiously, walking closer to the gang that now seemed petrified. So Marco and Ace knew each other, and apparently Ace had contact with Whitebeard as well. Shit… This really looked bad. What if Whitebeard found out that they had tried to rape Ace?! "Ace… Really? Why would you get into the same things over and over again? And why didn't you call me right away? Wait… Did you say rape!?"

"Lost my phone. That's why I stole the money, I had none. And I was getting hungry too", Ace stated calmly, walking past the still petrified gang. Marco sighed as he gave the umbrella to Ace, so that Ace wouldn't get wet anymore. The shorter one looked up at the blonde one. "Yup, I said rape."

"You know you should just call me or Oyaji if you're out of money. He cares for you the most and he will get really mad hearing that you haven't eaten anything again", Marco decided to sigh once more before he ruffled Ace's hair playfully. The freckled one only pouted and looked away, mumbling something of how he was a grown-up and how he could take care of himself. "So, was there anything you wanted to say to Ace?" Marco glared at the crowd of people who had tried to hurt Ace. Marco would make sure to beat them up later anyway. No one touched Ace and got away with it. The gang leader shook his head hastily. Of course they wouldn't go close to Ace anymore, they wanted to live on for god's sake! They weren't idiots! It was all clear that Fire-Fist Ace had some sort of contact with Whitebeard too! And they had nearly raped the boy! They should have taken him seriously when he had said that he would report them to the police! "Good. Then I hope you'll leave him alone in the future too." The taller man wrapped his arm around Ace's shoulder protectively. "Come Ace, I'll make sure that these bastards won't touch you ever again."

And so the two, tall slender figures walked away, their gestalts slowly mixing into one, and then they were so far away that the silhouettes disappeared into the fog of the rain.

* * *

"So… You're now forced to go around pretending that you're a girl?" Nami asked carefully. The orange-haired woman had listened to her dear friend with care, now slowly starting to understand what exactly her idiotic friend had gotten himself into. Why hadn't he just given up with ballet and become a hip-hop dancer instead? Ah, right, Luffy was so damn stubborn with his dream that it was impossible to even suggest something absurd like that. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"Haven't I always been in your opinion?" Luffy chuckled happily, obviously satisfied with his idiotic idea to pretend to be a girl. It was clear that the slender teen didn't do it because he wanted to, he did it because in his opinion he hadn't had any other option. His dream was to be a ballet dancer, nothing else. Even if the whole world would be against him and his dream, he still would find a way to make his dreams true. That was how he worked. "But that's why I am wearing make-up! I tried to practice so that I wouldn't look all too stupid for the first day."

"You will look stupid either way, but that's not the point! How the hell do you think that this will work out?! I mean, what if it had been Garp instead of me behind the door?!" the slim woman grabbed the shoulders of her friend and shook him violently. "He would have killed you! _Killed _you! Understand!? He still thinks that you are playing football instead of dancing ballet! What if he wants to come and see any match?!"

"Oh, he wouldn't be interested in my 'football matches'", the mischievous youth laughed sheepishly. "He barely is at home, and when he is all he does is to make me run some laps." Nami grew irritated of how stupid Luffy was, of how many risks he was taking. Even Nami had realized how crazy Luffy's grandfather. He was an old conservative man who would most likely not approve with Luffy's ballet and he would definitely not approve with the whole idea 'Lucy Waterstone'. Damn, Luffy really was stupid. "And if he'd ask about it, I'd just say that we don't have any games for the season or something."

"Are you sure he'd really buy that?"

"He has believed it for the past ten years, Nami."

"B-But the biggest risk here is you going around pretending you're a girl!" the angry exclamation echoed through the quiet apartment. Luffy had a long time ago turned the TV off and they had ordered a pizza together while Luffy had been explaining the whole situation. Now when he had explained everything the clock was most likely half past midnight. Nami was apparently going to stay over for the night. Not that Luffy minded. The two of them had always been really close. Nami liked boys who were gay for some reason. "I mean, what about your graduation?! Garp will surely come there, right?! What will you do then!?"

"Oh, you're right… I really didn't think that one through at all…" Luffy admitted quietly. Nami face-palmed with a deep sigh escaping through her lips.

"So what you need right now is my help, right?"

"Yup!"

* * *

"Ouch!"

"Hold still!"

"I am trying my best!"

"Geez", Marco sighed as he continued to clean the small cuts that were covering Ace's body. The teen sat on the sofa shirtless, letting the elder man treat him. To be totally honest, Marco had nothing against cleaning Ace's good-looking, muscular body. It was a good excuse to have the teen even sit there shirtless. "Why do you always get yourself into those kinds of situations?"

"I don't know… It's so difficult with everything and… I don't know", Ace replied, shame written all over his handsome face. His body twitched a little of how it suddenly started to sting in one of the cuts, obviously because Marco was cleaning it. The blonde male smiled and looked at the twenty-year-old man in front of him. "I… I am so fucked up, you know? I am twenty and I have yet not graduated."

"You started school two years later because of your situation, Ace", Marco said with a softer voice. He knew what the look in Ace's eyes meant. He hated that look more than anything on the planet, yet Ace tended to wear it all too often. Why couldn't he just like himself sometimes? "And then you had to repeat a year because you… Well you had some troubles in behaving, which you still seem to have."

"I know I have, but I… I just do things without thinking… I…" the desperate voice he was using made the smile on Marco's face fade away. It was always painful to see him so devastated like this. Once in a while Ace would just lose all hope he had gained, because he somehow had got remained of his traumatic past. Why had the society just left him alone? Why hadn't he been placed into an orphanage instead of having to live with those bandits? "I don't understand, that's all…"

"You don't have to", the blonde male stood up and looked out of the window. The rain was still smattering down violently. Most of the houses were dark, people were already fast asleep. Come to think of it, he was also dead tired. Ace would most likely sleep over this night, it wasn't safe for him to move alone anymore, he was involved with too many of the gangs. "Are you thirsty or hungry Ace?"

"Isn't it too late for food..?" the freckled teen had pulled his T-shirt back on. What a shame. Marco chuckled a little at the noise Ace's stomach made. So he was hungry. The freckled teen frowned of embarrassment on the sofa.

"Don't worry Ace, I'll gladly make you a sandwich", Marco walked into the kitchen. He quickly grabbed some bread and something to put in between them. He heard how Ace sighed on the sofa. It mustn't have been so nice to be hit and touched all the time. But Marco also knew that it was Ace's own fault that he had gotten into those situations. It took only a few minutes to make Ace a sandwich and pour him a glass of juice. The blonde male with sloppy blue eyes walked back into the living room with the sandwich and the glass of orange juice. "Here's your food, young master", Marco said sarcastically.

"Not funny, Marco", Ace said and took the sandwich carefully. It was always a tad adorable how Ace would at first hold the food with care and then stuff his face with it, not caring for his manners at all. Marco sat down in the armchair in front of the sofa, looking at Ace. It was almost ridiculous how you could sit and stare at him and he would not notice. He wouldn't even notice if someone was staring at his ass when he was changing clothes. Or maybe he would notice it if someone else but Marco would do it, but when Marco did it he didn't notice at all. "Thanks for the food."

"You are welcome", Marco said and took the empty plate and glass from Ace to put them in the dishwasher. It always amazed him how fast Ace really was capable of eating. Well, poor thing must have been starving too. Marco didn't understand why Ace never asked for help though he knew that he was screwed. The blonde male was of course aware of the fact that though Ace would have had his phone with him and the gang would have planned to rape him, he still wouldn't have called for help. That was how stupidly stubborn the freckled teen was.

When Marco came back to the sofa Ace had fallen asleep on it. All that was heard was the sound of rain smattering against the window panes. A faint smile spread across his tanned face. Narcolepsy, huh? Or maybe he just had been exhausted? The tanned man picked Ace up, thinking that he would let the freckled one use his bed. As soon as Ace felt that someone was touching him, he opened his eyes tiredly.

"Mm..? Marco..?" a faint mumble was all that he managed to get said. Marco held the freckled one carefully in his arms as he headed for his bedroom.

"All I am doing is putting you asleep in a more comfortable place, Ace", the taller blonde male made sure to walk carefully so that he wouldn't distress Ace too much. It was almost idiotic how much he cared for the freckled teen. Soon they were in Marco's bedroom and so the elder male placed the younger one on the bed and embedded him there gently. Ace's hair, which still was wet of the rain, made stains of water spread across the white pillow. Just as Marco was about to leave he felt how someone held his hand. "Huh? What is it Ace?"

"Want to know a secret, Marco..?" it was a dozy and slumberous inquiry as his hand wrapped around Marco's was sloppy and weak. Instead of replying the inquiry with words, Marco bent closer to Ace, to show the freckled one that he was listening. The blonde male's face was just inches apart from Ace's.

"_That_ day there was a thunderstorm too."

So it was thunderstorms that brought him back to his traumatic past?

* * *

**~Thanks for Reading~**


	2. Chapter 2

_****_**U-Umm... Hi? I'm really sorry for the late update, the last months have been completely horrid (too much programme all the time) ;_; and then when I had free time, I was really tired and only felt like lying on my bed and think :'D Bu-But promise that I'll never be this slow at updating again Q.Q (except if something completely horrible happens, but then I hope you'll forgive me C:)**

**Jan: AAAH! Thank you so much for all the compliments you are a wonderful person~! And I'm utterly sorry for the late update ;_; And yup, Luffy would be screwed without Nami's help :3**

**ichigi111kurosaki: Ah, such an adorable cute chibi pose~! I'm sorry to disappoint you, kawaii chibi-san :c**

**Anjelle: You... You... Y-You're being way too kind~! You really shouldn't be expecting somthing great, I'm not really that skilled at writing, but I like it so :3 Hehehehe, I love making Marco suffer for some reason..! But I do support MarAce too *has been planning on a MarAce fic since forever but is to lazy/dumb to actually write it* And yees, AceLu is the main pairing *is OTP* And once again, I'm apologizing for making you wait ;c  
**

**LostFairyMantic: Yohohoho, glad you think so~! Thanks for the review ^^**

**Kiki2000: Hihihi, Luffy is a cute little guy~! And I deeply thank you for flattering me with kind words~! And sorry to make you wait too, Kiki :**

**Jisca: Thank you so much~! :3 I appreciate your kindness :)**

**Callie982: Waaah~! So many kind people! I feel like a bad person for making you wait though Q.Q **

**~Enjoy~**

* * *

An extraordinary beautiful garden surrounded the enormous building. High walls surrounded the garden, protecting it from people who weren't meant to visit the mansion. Accurate details on the gate made one realize how rich the person who owned the place was. Some small statues could be seen in the garden if you looked in between the gaps in the black gate. The garden - which always seemed to be lush - was taken care of well, it could be noticed of how the bushes were cut into perfect shapes. Flowers in alluring colors painted the green, lush lawn. The blueness of the vast sky sweeping over the mansion made the building look even more appealing than it usually would look. Some of the people that walked past the mansion could even stop for a few minutes to witness the uncommonly splendid building. The architecture of the mansion was accurate and well-planned. It had several details and the whole style was quite old-fashioned. However, the building still looked fresh and strong, not like it would collapse any second. The strong-looking pillars may have been the cause for the feeling of certainty.

By the black gate you could clearly discern a tall gestalt. The bright red hair of the youth made the blackness of the gate look unimportant and dull. His amber eyes kept on concentrating at the front gate of the building. The front gate, that looked so proud and vigorous. The young man looked rebellious, but carried a school bag on his back, making the elder ones passing by realize that it was the day when the school year begun again. The morning sun kept on shining, making the majestic building look even more beautiful. He knew that he should go soon, he knew what the clock was and that he most likely would be late. The redhead wouldn't care if he'd be late though, he had other things to do. Like this, for instance. He had seen him in the garden once. He had never thought that he would live there, in the mansion. Why would a guy like him live there? Or did he even live there? Maybe he only had gone there for a small visit. But how on earth would he be familiar with the Donquixote family? The thoughts continued to storm around in his simple and dense mind. If he really would live there, would he really be a family member? By blood? It was so hard to decide what to believe. He waited a little longer, expecting to see the dark-haired youth stepping outside to make it to school in time. All that faced him as a somewhat chilly wind that breezed directly at his face. Maybe it really had been a visit after all? The redhead gave up and walked away from the gate.

One block later – on the street that led to his school – he could hear how people from his school gasped in awe. The temptation to turn around to see what fascinated the individuals took over his instincts and made him turn around. A black Rolls-Royce rolled smoothly down the street. The realization that struck his dense mind made his heart skip a beat. The redhead knew exactly who owned that car. The elegant vehicle parked in front of the school gate and a tall man with sunglasses stepped out from the driver's seat. A doughnut had magically gotten stuck to the man's cheek, otherwise he looked quite strict as he took some purposeful steps. His strong-looking hand, which was covered in a glove, opened the door to the backseat. The redhead's heart skipped another beat as soon as he realized who the slender youth stepping out of the car was. It really was him. It really was the genius, Trafalgar Law, the genius with absolutely gorgeous eyes. Did he really live with the Donquixote family? Why? Their surnames were different and all, they couldn't be related by blood! The redhead got hopelessly curious, only being capable of witnessing the wonderful presence of the other male. Trafalgar Law didn't notice the presence of him though, instead the man with a doughnut stuck to his cheek gave the dark-haired youth his school bag. The redhead continued to stare at the act, completely dumbfounded. Trafalgar Law uttered some small, gritted words as he bowed politely. With a few steps the outrageously smart youth was only one feet apart from the redhead. The temptation to grab the dark-haired youth and walk away with him to some obscure room only grew and grew. Though, one second later the temptation eased, for Trafalgar Law had already passed by and was walking into the school yard.

All Eustass Kidd was capable of doing was to stare at the tall slender figure. Trafalgar Law was a mystery he felt like solving.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of senseless running around, he finally was capable of admitting it. He was lost. He was lost, god damn it! Luffy looked down at the piece of paper, which appeared to be a simple map of the school. Where was he supposed to head? Right, left or up for the stair? Or maybe down those stairs over there? Argh! He was lost! And not only was he lost, he was late too! What kind of impression would that give of Lucy? Would everyone think of her as a messy, late and inappropriate girl, like Nami had warned him? The black-haired teenager continued to look at the map for a while more, before finally giving up. Letting a small sigh escape through his lips, he sat down on the bench next to him. He really was a hopeless idiot when it came to maps. Luffy pouted childishly for himself, as he let himself witness the amount of young people hurrying to their classes. They were also going to be late. The knowledge of that made him relax a bit. Maybe he should stop one of these students passing by and ask for directions? But, wouldn't that give an idiotic picture of Lucy? Why was it so utterly complicated and difficult to be a girl? Why couldn't you just eat what you want and say what you want? Luffy suddenly started to pity all the girls on the planet. It seemed like girls lived a complicated and horrible life. Oh well, luckily this would be over within a year.

"Hey, you."

The two words made Luffy look up at the individual speaking to him. What he faced was two stunningly handsome eyes. Dark, sloppy and gentle. Underneath the eyes, on the young man's cheeks, freckles were spread around, making him look mischievous and playful, even a bit childish. His lips were full in a masculine way and his chin was resolute. Luffy didn't even dare to look at the muscular body anymore. His cheeks burned up as he fidgeted awkwardly on the bench. His throat seemed dry and suddenly it seemed impossible to even speak.

"Y-Yes?" Luffy tried to be and sound like a girl as much as he could in this situation. Geez. It was so hard not to stare at him. And when he knew that it was more okay to stare at boys when he was a girl it made everything even more difficult. Was it okay to stare as a girl though? Or would that appear as if Lucy was a… a… what was it Nami had called it again? Ah, yes. _Slut. _

"You seem lost. Aren't you the new student?" he smiled kindly at her. Ace had spotted her quite easily. She wasn't like any other girl. She was without doubt the _cutest_ girl he ever had encountered with. But she wasn't Ace's type. Ace liked the type of girl who was naughty and sexy. This girl was hiding her curves in a stupid looking dress with blue flowers on it. Who on earth would even wear clothes like that? Yet the freckled youth felt like being kind to the poor thing, she seemed a bit… well… helpless. "I'm Ace." He introduced himself without receiving any proper reply, except some awkward stuttering. "Who is you class teacher?"

"Ah..!" Luffy snapped back to reality, realizing that the freckled Mr. Handsome in front of him had stated a question. He awkwardly unfolded another paper and desperately sought for the name of his class teacher. "That would be Smok-… eh… Smoker-sensei." What was up with this teacher's name? So hard to pronounce too! Oh no, now Ace most likely thought of Lucy as an airhead!

"Right. So you have that old geezer Smoker, huh?" Ace laughed a little for himself, knowing that the poor little girl wouldn't understand at what he was laughing. Smoker was by far the strictest and most boring teacher ever. "I feel sorry for you, girl." Another laugh escaped through his lips before he pointed out directions for the new student. He felt a bit awkward when the girl thanked him, people rarely did so. There was something special about her, which Ace couldn't understand. But he had to admit, he was indeed interested to see what kind of features she was hiding underneath that ludicrous dress of hers.

Luffy turned around to look whether the mysterious handsome guy still was by the bench, but he couldn't spot him anywhere. Maybe he had gone to his own class? He secretly hoped that they'd meet again. But was he even a student? He seemed so much older. Maybe he just was super mature? Oh, a mature, mysterious, handsome guy! So perfect! Luffy held himself from giggling as he quickly made his way up for the stairs to the second floor. He let his eyes look out of the windows a few times as he passed by some. The view was indeed something else. In Tokyo the view had been so dull with so many indifferent buildings. Well, indifference also gave a sentiment of safety.

When he finally stood outside the door to the classroom he was supposed to be in, he felt how nervousness came over him like a cold shower. Did he dare to knock on the door and say that he was late because he had gotten lost? Would this weird Smoker-sensei understand the situation or would he just punish him? His hands became a tad sweaty as he shakily knocked on the wooden door. He had silently prepared himself for a death penalty as a gray-haired man with cigarettes hanging in the corner of his mouth opened the door strictly. Wait… Was the teacher _smoking?!_

"I-I…" Luffy stuttered nervously, gulping awkwardly between the stuttering. The gray-haired man looked strict and dull, even a bit terrifying. He looked down at Luffy with judgmental eyes, which quickly became softer. Luffy didn't understand why the eyes became softer, but he didn't care either, this man was still scary. "I got lost, since it's my first day here and… uh… I'm sorry for being late..?"

"Don't worry, Lucy-san, I understand", the man sounded strict while he stepped to the side to let Luffy in. When Smoker-sensei had addressed him as Lucy, he had been reminded that he was supposed to act like a girl. He directly started to walk in the manner that Nami had taught him. It wasn't that hard, he had practiced a long time and was slowly growing used to it. Smoker-sensei gestured Luffy to stand in front of the class, obviously in order to introduce himself – or in this case, herself. "Class, this is our new student."

"My name is Lucy Waterstone! Nice to meet you all!" Luffy made sure to speak properly for the first time during the day. No awkward stuttering, neither any irritating insecurity hidden in his voice. A small gasp spread across the class, as Luffy grew awkward of all the attention he was receiving. Why were the boys looking at him like that? Had the dress been a bad option? Come to think of it, none of the other girls were wearing a dress! Oh no! He had failed, hadn't he?

"Why don't you tell something about yourself, Lucy-san?" the teacher crossed his arms decisively, while glancing at the class with threatening eyes. He was the kind of teacher who detested any kind of noise in his classroom. Luffy could tell that he was a nice person though he was so rigorous and dull. He was sure that Smoker-sensei was equitable. Though the smoke from his cigarettes was quite disturbing.

"E-Eh? Well…" Luffy hadn't been prepared for a question like that, but he had always been good at improvising. What should he tell about Lucy Waterstone? Well, he could start off with some actual facts and then come up with lies. The only problem with lies was that you had to remember exactly what you had said. And, well… Luffy wasn't the absolutely most skilled person on earth at lying. "I was born in Brazil, but gramps and I moved to Tokyo when I was three years old. Then we moved a lot around in Tokyo, once because of some trouble with a person, but then gramps decided to move here instead!" Another gasp of awe went through the class, Luffy could sense that even Smoker-sensei was impressed. To come from Tokyo was quite the big deal, wasn't it? Most of the people here had lived in the town for their whole lives and only attended to the international school because their parents were rich. And Luffy was most likely the only one from a foreign country too. Was it cool to be a foreigner? But Luffy couldn't speak Portuguese. Neither did he consider himself a Brazilian. Oh well… "And I've been dancing ballet ever since I was seven!"

"Interesting. I think that was enough, Lucy-san, please go and sit down by the free desk over there", Smoker-sensei pointed at one of the desks next to a guy with red hair. Luffy smiled gladly and walked to the desk, receiving more weird looks from the boys, making him feel a bit awkward again. "Oh and Lucy", Luffy looked up at the gray-haired teacher, who still was smoking the cigarettes. Had he mentioned that Smoker-sensei was smoking three at a time? Weirdo. "I won't forgive you next time. So don't come late again, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't!" Luffy laughed happily, trying to sound as girlish as he could.

"Good."

* * *

"Lucy-chan!"

Luffy turned around hearing that people were calling after him. He spotted a boy from his class, followed by some more boys. The slim teenager only raised his eyebrow due to confusion. What could these boys possibly want from him? They looked kind and glad so Luffy could easily tell that they weren't going to be mean. Maybe they wanted to be Lucy's friend? That would be so cool! To get so many friends on the first day! Maybe it wasn't that bad to be a girl after all?

"Yes?" Luffy smiled kindly at them, holding the books in his arms in the manner Nami had taught him to. Somehow Luffy felt a bit weak and ridiculous holding the books in that manner, but Nami had told him that it would paint a good picture of Lucy, so he had no choice.

"May I help you to your next lesson, please, Lucy-chan?" the young male looked hopeful as he held out his hand for Luffy to take. Lucy was a beautiful maiden, the boy had recognized that immediately when she had stepped into the classroom. She was so small and delicate, and her eyes..! Her eyes..! The dress only confirmed his theory of her being innocent and pure, like a beautiful flower blooming in the early spring! So startling beautiful! She needed a protector, for sure! She needed a knight in shining armor! Or else that demon, Ace, would taint her! "Or do you need help to carry your books? The bag?"

"May I have the honor to eat lunch with you, Pure Angel Lucy?" another boy kneeled before Luffy who had by then gotten utterly confused. What was this? Why was the boy kneeling before him? Why was the other boy so willing to help her? This whole thing was creepy! Luffy shakily took a small step away from the boys. These guys were so weird!

"Would you like to come over to my place someday, Lucy-chan?" a third boy asked, looking equally hopeful as the other two boys. Luffy wasn't sure what to reply to all of these questions, he just stood there and looked from male, to male, to male. One, two, three. Suddenly a fourth arrived, asking whether Lucy preferred strawberry flavored candy or orange flavored candy. Apparently the fourth boy was ready to offer Lucy some. Luffy only grew confused and stressed in the current situation.

"I'm confused!" Luffy said loudly, looking seriously at all four of them. He barely knew any of these guys and they were standing way too close to him, he didn't like it. The boys stopped talking and looked at Lucy for a while. Lu… Lucy was confused?! So adorable! She was so adorable! And those big, dark eyes that kept on looking at them so earnestly! S-She truly was an angel sent down to them from the sky!

"Ah! Lucy-chan! Please let me embrace you~!" one of the boys was about to hug Luffy when a fifth individual pulled him away from the four weird guys. Luffy couldn't see the person yet, but he smelled nice and was very tall. The other boys seemed to grow serious and calm again. "Tr-Trafalgar-kun!"

"Don't disturb the new student", a calm, dark, soft voice spoke behind Luffy as the grip around his shoulder eased and the arm that had been wrapped around him was gone. The only 'girl' of the group turned around to see who this mysterious savior was. It appeared to be a tall, handsome guy with dark rings underneath his eyes. In each ear two earrings dangled, and around his neck a checkered scarf rested. He looked laid-back and serious at the same time. Playful and strict. Angry and pleased. Luffy couldn't tell why, but the male was very appealing. "She might get scared of all your nonsense. I advise you to keep away from her until she's completely settled down."

"Who are you?" Luffy asked in his straightforwardly manner, completely forgetting about his girlish act. The tall male before him chuckled gently at the straightforward and dominant personality. This girl was very interesting, but something about her wasn't quite right. She seemed to stand in a weird manner and held her books in a very uncommon way. And when he had touched her she hadn't felt as curvy as a woman usually would.

"I am Trafalgar Law", he decided to answer the inquiry though the question was contradicting to all courtesy he had been taught. He chuckled again, letting the small hints he had received of the girl's odd behavior fall into places. "But isn't it polite to introduce yourself before asking the name of someone else?" when he pointed that out, he could recognize how Lucy suddenly stood in a different manner and held her books in a more girlish way. What was this all about? What was she hiding? Law had suddenly grown utterly interested in the girl. Whatever she was hiding, Law wanted to know about it.

"Ah, yes! S-Sorry about that!" Luffy fidgeted awkwardly, realizing that he had forgotten all about his girlish act. The boys around him looked at him weirdly, making his cheeks heat up and making him feel even more awkward. "I-I am Lucy! Shishishi!" The boys behind Luffy almost fell backwards because of the laughter. Lucy's laughter was so… So… adorable! She really was the perfect wife! Maybe she forgot about manners sometimes, but she dressed appropriately and was so cute that anyone would forgive her because of her acts! Law couldn't help but to blush a little, her laughter had indeed been very sweet. The heat on his cheeks made him feel a bit awkward.

"So, Lucy-ya", Law was now the one who occupied the place next to Lucy. The boys who had been talking to her just a moment ago grew utterly jealous, but didn't dare to protest against Trafalgar Law, the genius of the school. Correction; the handsome, rich, perfect, athletic genius of the school. Maybe he was the only one that deserved Lucy? A perfect and pure maiden needed a smart and strong husband, right? "Would you like to eat lunch with me today?"

"Okay!" Luffy wasn't quite sure why he had gotten so many friends so quickly, but he didn't care either. To have many friends was always a good thing, right? They could always help you out of trouble and help you to your next lesson! And if they were really kind they could even share their lunch with you! Having many friends was the best, wasn't it? To be a girl could be really productive and viable in some ways, it seemed! "I'm hungry already!"

"Hungry already? Didn't you eat breakfast?"

"Of course I ate! But I'm still hungry!"

* * *

"What did you say?!"

He hit his fists against the desk in his own office. Even though he was way too old to be working, he loved his company with all his heart and insisted to keep working. However, he was too tired due to age to work like he used to when he had been young. Back then he had worked all the time. A weird, white mustache was the feature on him that people mostly looked on. It had even given him a nickname, which everyone nowadays tended to call him. Even he himself didn't use his real names anymore, no one knew him by he's real names anyway. This mighty man, who owned the biggest company in the country, was currently overthrown by rage, not leaving anyone in the head-quarters unaware of this.

"Why didn't you ask for money, Ace?!" Whitebeard looked at one of his stupid – yet dear – sons. This youth had been working summer after summer as a deliverer. Whitebeard had, in some mysterious way, gotten really close to him, even though the youth had pulled off many pranks on him during the first summer. This youth was a little different from every other worker he had on his company. He usually would be equally generous and kind to all of his workers, especially to the ones he met daily, but this freckled youth was an exception. He was poor, he got into trouble all the time and he hated school. But most importantly; he hated himself. Whitebeard felt like Ace was a project that was extra hard to finish. He wanted to make the youth accept and like himself. It seemed so utterly difficult though, since the teen was unwilling to cooperate. "You know you don't have to pay me back!"

"B-But…" Ace looked shamefully away from the old man and fidgeted awkwardly on the chair in the office. He hated Marco for telling Oyaji about everything. Even about the gang incident. Who would have thought that Oyaji really would have become this mad? He hadn't even gotten that badly beaten up and nothing worse had happened! Marco just made everything sound so serious and dangerous. Curse him! "I… I don't know… And besides you shouldn't even worry!"

"I shouldn't even worry?! Ace, are you out of your mind?!" Marco was afraid that the desk Whitebeard kept hitting would break soon. However, the old man didn't care right now, he only wanted to make his idiotic son realize that he couldn't keep on living like this. Whitebeard gritted his teeth and calmed down. He wasn't the type to fall into a fit of rage so easily. "Ace, I know you want to take care of yourself but… You need help to get up on your feet first. You won't get anywhere in life if you keep on with things like this. You know what don't you?"

"I know, I know", Ace sighed and looked up at the old man. He remembered how he had been so surprised when the owner of the almighty Whitebeard Company himself had asked Ace to work for him, a few summers ago. Ace had been outside during the night and had gotten beaten up by some other gang. He had recognized the face that usually appeared in the newspapers, and had received a small shock when the old man had given him money to buy new clothes and food, and even offered him a place to work at! At first Ace had been hesitating to show up at the company, he had been a little rude to the old man, but now he was really glad that he had decided to work there for the summer! Every worker was so nice, though the niceness had been very odd in the beginning. And Ace had to admit that he still wasn't completely used to it that someone called him a son. But it felt nice, like he belonged somewhere. "But it feels so stupid to just take your money and…"

"Ace, you're my son, and you deserve the best, just like all of my other sons", explaining things like these for Ace was almost impossible. Whitebeard knew that Ace had major issues with trusting people and letting people help him. Telling him that he deserved something was like telling him he was Jesus. He wouldn't believe it. He had been living in hatred for too long. Yet Whitebeard was unwilling to give up. He'd make this idiotic, stubborn, freckled young man satisfied with himself! One way or another! "Why won't you understand that?"

"I do, I do, it's just that…" Marco looked at Ace who shamefully looked down at his feet. Poor thing was so ashamed. The blonde man almost started regretting that he had told Oyaji about the whole thing. He had been the one who had dragged Ace from school to the company and he had also been the one who had told the whole tale to Whitebeard, while Ace awkwardly had confirmed the story. And both of them had witnessed the old man turn redder and redder of rage for each detail they had told him.

"You don't understand, Ace. That's the problem here", Whitebeard placed some money on the desk, looking at Ace with serious eyes. "Now you're going to take these, and use them, and you're not coming back here telling me a similar story ever again. And be sure to eat properly too! And remember to eat your vegetables! And remember to do your homework!"

"Geez, you're not my mom, Oyaji!"

"It seems that I have to be."

Why was Marco suddenly picturing his boss in an apron? He shook the thought off, never wanting to imagine something similar again. Ever.

* * *

The rain-laden weather made it a little harder to breathe than usual. People weren't walking by as much as they usually would, he knew that since he had been standing there so many times. Despite the gray sky, the trees were still looking as lush and green as they had done in the morning. The flowers were also blooming in their fetching colors. It was ironic though, that the sky had turned gray the same moment when his mood had turned gray. He was there again, outside the almighty mansion, like he had been during the morning. By the same gate, looking at the same proud pillars, waiting for the same vigorous door to be opened. Nothing had changed, except the color of the vast and significant sky. He clenched his fists, mostly due to frustration, as he realized that he wouldn't see him. Trafalgar Law had taken a ride with the Rolls-Royce back to the mansion while he had been walking back. Trafalgar Law, who was smart, gorgeous, thin and sadistic. Trafalgar Law who most likely was heterosexual. Trafalgar Law who liked the new girl, Lucy. They had eaten lunch together. He had of course seen them.

Kidd remembered how Law had been talking with the cute girl, and how they had laughed together. Kidd remembered how Law had given his dessert to the girl, and how she had eaten it clumsily, making Law chuckle again. Kidd remembered how he slowly had gotten angrier and angrier watching the scene, almost going over to their table and start a fight with the annoying prick. That annoying Lucy. What did Trafalgar Law see in that flat-chested, childish girl, who danced ballet and wore ludicrous clothes? She was dull and weird. Why were the boys in his school going all crazy over here? Was it because she was so weird? Because she was so different from every other girl? Was that the special thing about her? Her weirdness? Kidd only became angrier thinking of her, and therefore decided not to think about her anymore.

Standing there, looking into the precise garden with its alluring colors, he couldn't help but to ask the same questions again. Why did Trafalgar Law live with the Donquixote family? It all was so absurd and odd. It struck Kidd very odd to think that Law would be related to the family in any kind. Maybe Law's parents were acquaintances with Doflamingo and Law really didn't live here, but was staying over at Doflamingo's place so that he could go to the international school here? That seemed like a logical explanation, and so Kidd decided to settle with that for now, even though he knew that he'd ask himself the same question when he'd pass by the house tomorrow morning. He sighed and backed away from the gate a little, realizing that he had been standing there long enough. One small raindrop took the courage to fall down from the gray, indifferent sky. Slowly it started to rain as Eustass Kidd decided that he should head home. He knew no one was expecting him back home, and he knew he'd face nothing but silence there. But he felt like a creepy stalker standing outside someone else's home and it had started to rain too. He turned around and was just about to walk away when someone called his name:

"Eustass-ya!"

The familiar voice. The familiar way of addressing people. Why? Why would he come out now? Why would he come out when he was leaving? Had he seen Kidd and gotten suspicious? A small tint of red spread across his street. He felt awkward. What would Law think of him now? That he was a creepy stalker? Was he going to report him to the police? The rain felt cold and objectionable. Kidd didn't like to get wet and cold, it irritated him.

"Trafalgar?" Kidd pretended to be surprised, as if he didn't know that the gorgeous teen was living there. It was like the biggest joke ever. Like he hadn't been standing by that gate every single day since he first had met Trafalgar Law, the only perfect human being on earth. He looked at the black-haired male, who held an umbrella in his hands, running to the gate. He looked at Kidd with somewhat cold eyes as he stopped right by the black, stately gate. "What is it?" Kidd took some steps back to the gate again, looking into the silver eyes of the other males. So beautiful. The long eyelashes, the shining color of the iris and the perfect shape.

"It's raining. Come in", Law said opening the gate, looking a bit hostile. Even though he was looking so hostile, he was letting Kidd in. What a weird guy. But Kidd couldn't possibly say no to this tempting invitation, could he? He would finally get a chance to learn more about this enigmatically appealing male. Maybe he'd even learn why he was living in the mansion? Was it impolite to ask about it? The rain slowly grew heavier, making more noise. It had been raining more than usual lately. Last day too. And the day before that. Was it because autumn was slowly arriving? The trees were so positively green though. Maybe autumn was making its move sneakily with some innocent rain? The leaves would turn orange before he'd know it. "I bet you don't have an umbrella anyway."

"You know me surprisingly well."

Kidd had a feeling that this would get both utterly awkward and incredibly interesting. He'd finally get some clues to solve his mystery – Trafalgar Law.

* * *

~Thanks for Reading~


	3. Chapter 3

_****_**I'm once again sorry for the late update, I have grown to be addicted to running again and I've been going for jogs almost everyday. I try to keep each jog under one hour but lately it's been hard and I also have a lot of shit going on with school (tests, books to read) and on top of that we're planning a Halloween party with some friends. SO. My life is quite filled with stuff to do right now.**

**Callie982: Can't blame him, if Law would go to my class I'd stalk him too. xD thanks for the review and for liking the chapter! (:**

**Anjelle: Thank you for being kind! And I'm glad it could live up to your expectations though I found it utterly stupid. Well, not that this chapter is much better... x3 Thanks for the review!**

**poyo0723: thanks for liking! Cx And sorry for late update ;C**

**LostFairyMantic: Thanks for liking it! I like you~! x)**

**seikens: Ohh, I'm really liking YOU for liking this fic :'D**

**Jan: THANK YOOOOU~ You are just a sweet, lovely kind person, thank you for existing! Never stop living! I wann hug Lu too~ . In this chappie you are gonna have him in a strawberey patterned dress tho' :3**

**Dreamerall: hahahah xD sorry for traumatizing you with Mommy-Whitebeard x) And Kidd is just being Kidd i think... I think Kidd would stalk Law, since who wouldn't stalk Law? :'3 Thanks for the review!**

**manga-lover2958: They do see it, but none of them have met Luffy before, so they can't associate the scar with anything. x) Thanks for liking the story and thanks for the review! It warms my heart on this chily autumn day!**

**Currywspice: Everytime I read that name I wanna eat curryy... Suddenly I'm hungry again. Thank you for liking my work! x3 Yes sorry for the sketchiness, I shall try to improve, I'm not that good at writing you see :c AceLu is the main-pairing! Yes, I know Lu is a tad OOC here, but otherwise he would be busted right away, and that'd be no fun, would it? ;3 and no, I usually don't stay strictly IC in AU stories. xD Sorry that I took a long time to update tho O_O**

**So yeah... U-Umm... That was about all! Also if there's someone who knows more about basketball please enlighten me (I only play in the school team so...)! that'd be great!**

**~Enjoy~**

* * *

The building was indeed as vigorous and fine as it was from the outside. Neat paintings, accurate golden details, stately pillars and clean marble floors. The redhead couldn't help but to admire his ambient while the slim male in front of him led him in. Currently the two teens stood in the lobby, where two robust staircases led up to a corridor on the second floor. Big curtains hang from the ceiling, covering most of the windows. All the light inside of the building was caused by electricity or fancy candles. It appeared that the owner of the place wasn't fond of looking at the outside world. Maybe it wasn't so appealing in his opinion. Kidd didn't know.

"What were you doing outside of this place at this time of the day? Shouldn't you have gone home to do your homework, Eustass-ya?" Law inquired with the same hostile voice. His silver gray eyes looked at Kidd who was lost with the situation. What were you supposed to do in fancy houses? "Ah that reminded me of the math assignment. How pestering."

"Yeah. Uh… Um… Trafalgar, what am I doing here?" Kidd had no idea what to do with his current situation. He had never been taught manners and all he ever knew was how to party real hard and get ridiculously wasted. That was about everything Eustass Kidd was capable of doing. Of course, the redhead was really good in bed too. But none of these features were good to use in this situation. Or maybe the latter one..? No. Trafalgar would only get scared if Kidd would attack him out of the blue.

"You're hiding from the rain, naturally", Law said, while he put the closed umbrella to hang onto some kind of umbrella-stand. Kidd wasn't sure what to call it. But there hung other umbrellas too, so…

Kidd frowned of confusion while someone came down from the stairs. All you could hear were the steps of the unrevealed individual. When the said person was revealed, Kidd could easily recognize him. It was the weird guy who had driven Trafalgar to the school earlier that morning. He looked at Law for a brief moment, while his somewhat threatening figure walked purposefully down the vigorous stairs.

"I see you brought a friend with you, Law-kun", the man stated while he finally had reached the lobby. He gave Kidd a slightly judgmental glance before he reached out his gloved hand. "I am Vergo, Young Master's right hand, if you remember me. I look after Law-kun here. It's nice to meet you again."

"Uh… I'm Kidd", the redhead grinned and shook the hand. Law only watched at the situation. He could tell that the redhead wasn't used to situations like this. He seemed both awkward and nervous when he shook Vergo's hand to introduce himself. In some way Eustass Kidd appeared to be slightly adorable. He tried his best to cover up the fact that he wasn't well-mannered and had no idea what he was doing. He seemed so serious over it. As if he was doing business with someone, while in reality all he did was to introduce himself. "I'm Trafa- ehh… I mean… Law-kun's classmate. And I don't think we've met before..?"

"Yes that's true, we haven't met before. It's good to know that Law-kun has some friends that are reliable", Vergo let go of the hand and looked at the rebellious-looking male. He seemed like he could cause trouble if he got too involved. Vergo would tell Law to not bring him over again. The redhead smelled trouble. "You're soaked, Kidd-kun. Maybe Law-kun could borrow some of his clothes to you?"

"Ah, it's not necessary I'm tot-"

"Nah, it's fine. Come Eustass-ya, we can go to my room", Law pulled Kidd with him as if he was impatient. Kidd became very confused of this action. Just a minute ago Law had looked utterly hostile, as if he wanted Kidd to go home instead of staying. But now he seemed desperate, as if he _needed _Kidd to stay. This kid was weird. The redhead tried his best to read Law's expression, but it seemed hopeless. All he could tell from his expression was fear, but that wouldn't make any sense, would it? Kidd was just very bad at reading people, it seemed. Maybe Trafalgar was really nervous because he had forgotten to do the math assignment? Nah, that didn't seem like him at all. Trafalgar had no trouble whatsoever in school. So what was up with that weird expression of his?

"Uh... O-Okay?" Kidd followed the slender male, not being sure of what was happening or if anything that occurred really was as interesting as he had thought. He had only learned that Vergo was a guy who looked after Trafalgar, meaning that Trafalgar most likely was not related to Doflamingo himself. But why did he live here then? Or maybe he really was related to Doflamingo but the man was too busy with work or something and had hired someone to look after Trafalgar? That seemed a tad sad, though.

After a while of walking around in the elegant building, they finally reached a door where Trafalgar would stop by. He opened the door and Kidd had to admit that he was surprised – he had expected a huge room with beautiful details and expensive fitments. This room, however, appeared to be simple with one sofa, a desk and a bookshelf filled with books. There hung nothing on the walls and there was nothing else in the room that showed that Trafalgar was living there for real. Not even a wardrobe. Not even a _bed_. Was this really Trafalgar's room?

"My clothes might be a little too small for you, Eustass-ya", Law continued to speak as if it was nothing, while he went down on all fours to look after something underneath the inconsolable fitment. He took out a big, somewhat flat cardboard box and opened it. Inside of it were clothes. Law took out a hoodie and a pair of jeans, along with a T-shirt. "These are the biggest I have. I'm not sure if they fit you though…"

"Nah, it's okay Trafalgar. I'll leave directly when it stops raining."

'_No don't leave Eustass-ya. If you leave I have to be with __**him**__. I don't want to. Please stay.'_

"No it's okay Eustass-ya, please do stay", Law tried his best to open up to the red-haired male. They had never really interacted in class, and they barely knew each other, so the current situation was pretty awkward. But he needed the redhead to stay as long as possible. "I could help you with the math assignment too. I know you have some trouble with math, right?"

"A little", Kidd admitted, his face almost heated up. It was always equally embarrassing to admit that he sucked in school. Lately he hadn't even been trying to get good grades though, but he knew that he'd never be as good as Trafalgar even though he'd work hours on end every day. Trafalgar was a born genius, while Kidd was a born idiot. To think that he even dreamed of winning the heart of someone like Trafalgar.

"Do you have your books with you?"

"Yeah."

Kidd opened his backpack and took out the math book. It had become slightly wet because of the rain, but it wasn't critical. It would survive. Not that Kidd cared whether his math book would survive or not. Though right now a math book was really paying off, it gave you a good reason to be close to Trafalgar. Maybe he could use this trick in school too? Even if Trafalgar only was being nice and helped Kidd, it didn't matter as long as he got to stay close with him.

"Okay, Eustass-ya, so what part of this is it that you don't understand?" Law asked with Kidd's math book in his slender, tattooed hands. Kidd had never realized it before, but Trafalgar had several tattoos. Did Doflamingo really approve that? He seemed like a conservative bastard, judging from the look of the house. Poor Trafalgar though. If this really was his room then he lived a very sad and pitiful life. Kidd almost felt like the hero of a movie, since he felt responsibility to save Trafalgar from Doflamingo's evil hands. Doflamingo seemed like a man who treated Trafalgar badly, he hires a person to look after him and then makes him live in the – most likely – smallest room in the house. Kidd was now sure that Trafalgar was not related to the bastard in any way, he was most likely the child of Doflamingo's acquaints. Doflamingo did most likely not like Trafalgar for some reason. Maybe he was jealous since Trafalgar was so incredibly smart?

"Uhh… I don't understand any part..?" Kidd admitted awkwardly, still dumbfounded of the simple and small room. Trafalgar sighed a little to his response and then slowly started to explain everything for Kidd. The redhead stopped Law several times to ask some questions or because he didn't understand, but in one way or another Law always managed to explain it to him so he understood. Studying with Trafalgar seemed both efficient and pleasing for the eyes! Just look at the way he played with the pencil while he explained things! Or the way his eyes would look at Kidd to be sure that the taller male surely had understood! It all was way too adorable!

"You start to understand now, Eustass-ya?" uncanny and enigmatic eyes – which still were gorgeous – looked up at him with curiosity.

"Yeah, thanks a lot. This really helped me. I actually think I'm starting to get a hang of this."

Kidd could tell that the slender male wasn't used to hear compliments. He looked away awkwardly and stuttered an awkward 'You're welcome' as a reply. Kidd found it to be too sweet to be true.

"I'll repay you some way, Trafalgar."

"Really? How are you going to that? I heard that you're out of money all the time and it's not like you could teach me anything."

Trafalgar was slick, which sometimes didn't come in so handy for Kidd.

"I know these great places in town. I could buy you a drink?"

It was a slightly awkward suggestion, mostly since Kidd didn't want it to sound like he was asking the tattooed teen out. Even though he imaginary did that.

"I don't drink. I'm an absolutist."

"Right, forgot about that", Kidd caught a small glimpse of Law's face, and could tell that the dark-haired youth only appeared to be amused. The redhead had seen Law smoke on the backside of the school, so he knew that the genius definitely wasn't an absolutist. Kidd could as well take that as a reject.

"But,-"

There was hope?

"I don't mind a small glass of Martini in a nice jazz bar somewhere downtown, with good company that is," there was an uncanny smirk upon the male's face, and Kidd knew he had a small chance. He wasn't sure what the sarcastic tone at the end of the sentence had meant, but currently, he couldn't give a flying fuck.

"So… Which jazz bar is worthy your liking, Trafalgar?"

"I usually go to a place called Jackass Jazz, but that is supposed to stay as a secret, alright Eustass-ya?" the smirk was still resting on his lips, but in reality Law felt utterly relieved to be able to talk about his secrets to someone. In the meantime, the youth felt utterly nervous. What if someone heard him confess all these things? Honestly Law couldn't understand why he was telling Eustass Kidd all kinds of secrets he had been hiding for months. Eustass Kidd felt reliable in some intricate manner. It all was childish. He knew that he wouldn't interact with the male after this afternoon anyway. Why would they? They had never done it before either. "But I preferably go there with my own friends, and you don't seem like a person who enjoys jazz. Let me guess your style..? Punk, rock and a little bit of heavy metal. Also, when you're sad you listen to emoish beats."

Kidd could feel how his cheeks heated up. Trafalgar had been right on spot. He did listen to exact that kind of music, and it was utterly embarrassing that the male even could tell what kind of music the redhead listened to when he was down. Was he really that easy to read?

"Yeah, that's true, but since you helped me I could still-"

"It's fine Eustass-ya", Law looked around himself, feeling uneasy and chased by voices and shadows which didn't exist. "Let's talk about this later in school okay?" He couldn't do otherwise but to whisper, and that made the muscular, pale man lift an eyebrow.

"Your dad doesn't like that you hang around places like that..?" Kidd whispered back. He had settled with calling Doflamingo Law's dad until the teen said otherwise, because that'd mean that he hadn't devoted time thinking of the matter.

"Dad?" the tattooed young man burst out in calm, soothing laughter. "You think Doffy is my dad?"

"He isn't?"

'_Doffy? What's up with that odd nickname?'_

"Well technically I suppose he is."

'_What's that supposed to mean?' _

Kidd didn't have time asking about it anymore, since the door to the simple and inconsolable room was opened. It was the weird man, who now had magically gotten a teaspoon attached to his cheek. His name was Vergo, was it not? Wow, Kidd was actually learning things today. Names of people and math. Hanging with Trafalgar seemed utterly efficient!

"Young Master wants to discuss with you, Law-kun", Vergo looked at the two youths through his black sunglasses. He could tell that he had ruined a nice, fluffy atmosphere by interrupting the two males of whatever they had conversed about. It really seemed like Law had to be kept away from that redhead, otherwise they could grow too close. "Thus I consider it is time for Eustass Kidd to return back home."

"Right", the redhead found the whole situation very awkward. The cold words the tall man had said to them felt like Trafalgar and he had been doing something unforgivable together. As if he just had walked in on them having sex or something. Kidd collected his stuff awkwardly and put them in his schoolbag. "I'll be going then. See you later, err, Law-kun."

"See you tomorrow in school, Eustass-ya."

Trafalgar Law was well aware of what was awaiting him a few rooms from this, while Eustass Kidd couldn't even imagine what kind of life the other was living.

* * *

Black, long, straight hair sank beautifully down on a slender and curvy body. Blue eyes, which were perfectly shaped, looked purposefully forwards with a slightly cold glance. Rosy lips - which rarely would be seen in a sweet smile - glistened slightly in the faint light of the lamps. Long eyelashes, colored in black with the help of makeup, and gentle eye shadow making the eyes look bigger and more forgivable. The tall, slender and curvy figure moved smoothly yet earnestly forwards, the individual had clearly set a goal for herself. She was upset. No, that wasn't the correct word to use. She was angry. She was fuming of fury, a fury that was so great that it almost could be infernal. That was the consequence of stealing her spotlight and making her jealous. Boa Hancock wasn't just anybody after all. She was the empress of the school.

Or at least, that was what people called her.

Boa Hancock had heard this pestering rumor the past few weeks, this rumor about a sweet, unordinary girl who undoubtedly had stolen the hearts of many pupils. This girl wore ludicrous dresses and acted a tad weird all the time, Hancock had heard, but her captivating eyes had slayed every possible bad thought of her so far. The girl also belonged to the ballet club in the school, which none other than the nerdy – yet rich – Nefertari Vivi led.

After everything Boa Hancock had heard about this unfortunate 'Lucy Waterstone' she could easily tell that this girl was trying to steal her position as the most popular girl of the school. And the most horrific point of this all was that the uncommon girl actually was succeeding. Hancock herself had never interacted with the girl, yet seen her. She was now haunting this 'Lucy' down to meet her herself, to make her back away a little. This school was Hancock's territory, nobody else's.

On both sides of the stunningly graceful pupil her not-so-beautiful sisters walked. They were more like Hancock's bodyguards in some ways; they never left their elder sister's side for instance. Boa Sandersonia had dyed her hair in a slightly rebellious manner, as it currently appeared to be green. She usually was seen smiling slyly and she had a snakelike appearance. Boa Marigold was different though – you couldn't simply mistake her for a snake – her body was all too round for that. She was stern and wouldn't smile often, but that was most likely due to her cold and unforgivable elder sister's attitude.

Hancock had slyly found out what lesson 'Lucy Waterstone' would be attending to next. She therefore now knew the location of this weird and captivating girl. The corridor was long and people literally pressed themselves against their lockers or the walls to prevent being in the way of the graceful young woman. Hancock couldn't help but to feel a tad satisfied with the respect she had gained in this school during the past years.

Finally, at the end of the corridor, the tall and gorgeous pupil could spot the weird girl. She had short spiky hair and big eyes, exactly as people had told her, and underneath her left eye there was a scar. The girl was flat-chested and wore a stupid pink dress with red strawberries on it. Around her stood a group of people, one of them was Trafalgar Law, who carefully chuckled at something the girl had uttered. Hancock finally reached the group and Lucy looked up at her with her rumored eyes – Hancock didn't want to admit that the eyes indeed had earned their rumor.

"Lucy Waterstone?" the cold and wanton voice the beautiful girl used made Lucy a bit taken aback. She frowned of confusion and looked at the others in the group for help. Was she just acting it out or was she actually this adorable? No. No one was born to be that sweet.

"Yes, that's me?" Luffy was utterly confused. The past weeks in school had proceeded on without any trouble, no girl had questioned it when he had decided to change in the bathroom for the P.E. lessons and he had gained an immense amount of friends. Who was this girl? She sounded upset and angry with Luffy. Had Luffy done something a girl shouldn't do? "U-Umm… Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Hancock laughed at the reply, a cold and oppressive laughter. Her two sisters joined her by snickering. Luffy raised an eyebrow. What was wrong with this lady? "I happen to be Boa Hancock. You have surely heard of me before."

"Actually, I've never heard about anyone called Hammock before…" Luffy mused for himself and turned around to look at his new friend Torao, or whatever his name was again. His name was so hard to pronounce! "Have you heard of someone called Hammock before, Torao?"

"Yes. She is one of the few pupils who decided to repeat one year", Law informed Lucy diligently with his calm voice. He looked at the sweet girl who nodded slowly, but he still wasn't completely sure whether the girl really had understood him or not. She had most likely not heard about the small amount of people who were one year elder than the seniors of the school, since they had decided to stay one year extra to improve their grades before moving forwards in life. Law was sure that Eustass Kidd would be one of them next year. Speaking of him, he still hadn't bought Law his Martini in Jackass Jazz. In fact, the redhead hadn't even asked Law when and where they should meet. Hell, Law had rarely seen the redhead lately. Rude bastard.

"You don't have to put it that way Trafalgar-kun", Hancock said, hiding her blush with an angry attitude. She detested Trafalgar Law for being a born genius and for making it sound like she was an idiot. Otherwise she didn't mind the smart young man, he always held a respectful distant to other people and had his own stuff going on. Boa Hancock had naturally seen him in the jazz bars downtown all too many times hanging with people who didn't attend to this school. And she knew that the young man had some kind of bizarre situation at home, but she didn't know any details of it.

"Right", Law replied shortly. By then he had lost concentration with the small catfight going on, he found it utterly boring. Instead he couldn't help but to notice how Lucy stood in the odd manner again. He had tried to solve the mystery these past weeks, but hadn't managed to come so far yet.

"Aha! Hammock is the senior-senior student! I see, I see!" Lucy nodded seriously, making a few boys flailing around her sigh because of her adorable actions. Law couldn't help but to find this adorable too, Lucy reminded him of an innocent maiden in some way. It was almost ironic that she even danced ballet, something that people normally considered conservative and pure. Hancock herself was caught off guard. She hadn't thought that the girl actually would be this honest and pure. This had to be an act. "Was there something Hammock wanted to tell me? I'm listening!"

"Well", Hancock started again with her cold attitude, making Lucy tilt her head to the side in a manner that was almost criminally adorable. "I came to tell you to back off."

"Back off?" Luffy was confused. Back off? Why should he back off if he never had encountered with this lady before? Had she felt threatened or something? A very weird lady indeed. "Ehh… Okay..?" Law watched Lucy take an awkward step backwards and had to hold himself from sighing. Lucy was sometimes so dense that it hurt to just look at her. Law had learned that the past weeks they had hung out in school.

"You know what I mean", the beautiful eyes of the tall woman grew thinner as she almost spitted out the words. How could this stupid girl with her embarrassing dresses _not _respect Hancock like the rest of the school did? Hell, she hadn't even heard of her name before! What a disrespectful individual! People who didn't admire her for her beauty didn't deserve to live either! She angrily ripped the books Lucy had been holding from her grip and threw them to the floor.

"Hey! I like that book!"

"I don't care. You are going to forgive me. Even if I'd brutally murder you, the whole world would still forgive me. Do you know why?" Hancock leaned backwards and pointed down at Lucy. "Because I am… Beautiful!"

"Oh boohoo!" Lucy stick out her tongue at Hancock while she picked up the stuff Hancock had thrown to the floor earlier. The boys around her helped her, and the young woman with the straight, long black hair was dumbfounded. Why were they helping _Lucy!? _Normally they'd be squealing in an embarrassing manner because of_ her_ beauty! Why had they all ignored her suddenly?! Why were they flailing over Lucy and not her?! Why?! "Oh no! My favorite pen was broken!" Lucy held up a pen with yellow stars on it. It had apparently broken in the pencil case, which had been thrown to the floor among the pile of books and papers.

"Oh no!" one of the boys kneeled down next to Lucy who looked at the broken pen with sad eyes. "Don't worry Lucy-chan, I'll buy you a new one! Just tell me what kind of pen you want, I'll fix it!"

"But I liked _this _pen!" Luffy pouted and stood up. Rude lady this one. She had thrown his stuff on the floor, and his favorite pen had broken too. Luffy didn't like her. Not at all. "I don't like you! I won't forgive you for breaking my pen!"

"I don't care, everyone else will forgive me. Do you know why? Yes, precisely, because I am-"

"A stupid lady who broke my pen!" Lucy looked angrily at the woman. Law chuckled carefully at the act, but stopped immediately when the cold glance of Boa Hancock was directed at him. The stance Lucy currently was standing in seemed very familiar in some way. Law couldn't tell what it was in the stance. It was so familiar… As if he saw it every day, as something casual he wouldn't think of at all… He tried his best to think, but it was all in vain.

"Yeah! Stop picking on Lucy-chan! She's the new student! And she's a pure maiden unlike you!" the boy who had uttered that gave Hancock's chose of clothing a disapproving glance. She was wearing an all too short skirt with a top that revealed way too much of her body. Hancock was taken aback by all the boys who suddenly stood up for the stupid girl named Lucy.

"Don't come here and insult Lucy-chan like that! She's a kind girl unlike you!"

"Okay everyone, we shouldn't be mean to Hammock either", Lucy had suddenly softened, it was probably because Law by then had managed to fix her pen and promised her to give her his dessert again. "She probably has a bad day today. Don't worry Hammock! Here, you can have this!"

The boys looked at Lucy with confusion as the girl handed over a small heart-shaped eraser to Boa Hancock. Honestly, they couldn't understand the girl at all. Just a minute ago the adorable girl had been angry with the tall young woman, but now she tried to spirit up the furious – yet graceful – pupil. The boys could see how Hancock was taken aback by this. Lucy grinned up to her and laughed sheepishly.

"…What is this?" Hancock asked carefully as she looked down at the small eraser she had received from the honest girl. She wasn't sure how to react to this. Usually people forgave her because of her looks, but Lucy here only seemed to forgive her because she was remissive and kind. Hancock couldn't remember when someone had forgiven her because of pure kindness before. She was honestly dumbfounded because of this.

"It's a small present to make your day better", Lucy grinned and looked over at Law. "Torao, do you have the time?"

"Yes, class starts in a few minutes."

"Got to get going then! See you later everyone!"

During the rest of the day Boa Hancock didn't come with any poisonous comments to anyone.

* * *

He was good at sports, he had always known that. So, it hadn't come as a surprise when the coach of the basketball team had come and asked him whether he wanted to join the team or not. Apparently he'd get to play as a striker from the beginning, since he was fast and aggressive. Aggressive in a good manner, that is. Not in a manner where he'd kill someone or attack them like a wild beast of some sort. 'Aggressive' used in these terms could also be described as a person who wasn't afraid of other people while playing, or a person who wasn't afraid of the basketball. No, the freckled youth was anything but afraid. He'd easily dribble past the opponents, and he had great elasticity, which meant that he jumped high enough to dunk.

Ace was very good at sports, and he enjoyed sports. Especially team sports, because if he was to fail, then it wouldn't be his fault alone, but it would be the whole team's fault. This way there was less stress. In team sport you simply couldn't blame one person, it was like going against the unwritten rules. If you did that, you labeled yourself as the biggest dickhead with the smallest dick in town.

It was past school hours, but the basketball team had a training session today, and Ace had chosen to give the club a try. Ever since that incident with Oyaji and Marco he had tried to do better in school and not to burn the teacher's papers. Signing up to some school activity had been the first step to a better life. He had gotten more appropriate friends along the way, friends who did other things than party and smoke. Even though the basketball team did consist of the popular guys in school, they all weren't the most dreadful persons. The basketball team was a little like a football team in other schools. All the popular, hot guys belonged to it, since they worked out. However, they were not the most dreadful individuals of the school, since those individuals rarely decided to show up in school at all.

The coach was screaming like a maniac to the boys who ran back and forth in the school's gym. They had been training hard for the past forty-five minutes, and soon the coach would whistle off the game. Ace stood behind one of the opponents – the whole basketball team had been split into two smaller teams – and waited for someone to pass the ball to him.

"Pass to Portgas you morons! That freckled idiot is all free!" the coach screamed angrily. He was a fat old man with a stupid dark blue peaked cap. Currently his round face was red of anger but when he had asked Ace to join the team the face had been smiling proudly. What a funny man.

The ball was passed to Ace who started to run forwards.

"No! No! No! Along the edges Portgas! Run along the edges!"

Ace was growing a tad irritated of the man, but obeyed him. Running along the edges of the field seemed to be paying off though, the opponents had a hard time to take the ball from him, since they all were guarding the middle of the field. Ace could tell that the stodgy coach was tactful though he was angry and insulted each player when they were in action. But insulting them was also tactful. The insults made them grow them angry, which in turn made them grow more aggressive and less scared. Ace at least felt like showing that old man how damn good he was, after being called a 'freckled idiot'.

He came close to the basketball stand, dribbled past the last players, jumped and easily dunked the ball in.

He could hear how the coach clapped his hands. Ace had managed to impress that fucktard after all. After the dunk the coach whistled off the game and told them to stretch the last minutes before taking a shower and going back home. Before the coach left he passed by Ace and clapped him on the shoulder, saying that he hadn't seen someone who could dunk like that for ages. Ace had a weakness for compliments and blushed while he thanked the man. Someone laughed at him, and the freckled youth threatened him so that he quieted down.

After a quick shower in the shabby changing room, Ace collected his stuff and was about to leave. He was one of the last left, since he always took his time to change clothes and take showers. And besides, one of the younger students had been admiring him and talking with him all the time. Like that hadn't frustrated the hell out of Ace. But, at least it felt good that these people weren't looking down at him for getting shitty grades. Instead they had gained to respect him because of his skills to play basket. And it wasn't the kind of respect he received from some people, the kind of respect when they feared him for his violent side. Or that other respect, the kind of respect when they only had sympathy for him because of his past. This was real respect. Something he hadn't received from people his age – almost his age – for a too long time.

When Ace was on the way out, he realized that he had forgotten his water bottle in the gym. He quickly went through the changing room and through the door that directly led to the gym. Now the parquet floor was occupied by the ballet club. Their leader Nefertari Vivi was currently warming up with the other girls. Ace picked up his neon yellow water bottle and then stopped to watch the slim and well-trained bodies of the girls.

Among the girls Ace could spot that weird girl he had encountered with some weeks ago. That weird new student with her ludicrous dresses, who in some weird way appeared to be utterly appealing. Ace looked at the slim muscular body with awe, Lucy was a bit more muscular than the others. Her body seemed delicate though, thin like a flower petal. Her skin looked smooth and her big, captivating eyes looked happy. She clearly enjoyed dancing. They all were training in tights and tops of some sort, but Lucy was wearing a skirt on top of her tights. In some way it appeared to be a tad adorable. As if she was living up to the ballerina she had dreamt of being as a child.

Ace couldn't understand why he found the girl with the flat chests and the not-too-curvy body attractive. Why was he fond of the short spiky hair and the scar underneath the left eye? Ace knew he liked women with big breasts and curvy bodies, so why on earth was he so drawn to this childish and ridiculous girl? It all was incomprehensible.

Lucy turned her head a little to the side and then spotted Ace. She smiled at him and waved a little.

Ace waved awkwardly back.

What was up with this weird feeling inside of him?

* * *

The man looked shady as he sat in the cafeteria in the CBD of Tokyo. It wasn't a very cheap cafeteria, but the man had kept on ordering coffee after coffee, reading a newspaper and looking at his phone every now and then. He was dressed in a classy tweed jacket and wore a nice, classy hat to suit his style. He had long, black, wavy hair that reached down to the shoulders and a bit lower. He had a weird close-shaved goatee with utterly arched eyebrows. As for his body, it was long and slim, yet muscular and sturdy. He had crossed his legs as he took a sip from the third cup of coffee for the day. On his right shoulder a white pigeon perched quietly, making people look at the man as if he was mad. The man, however, didn't talk so much. And when he did, he was utterly polite.

He looked out of the window and saw how an immense amount of people rushed to get home. The clock was getting closer to five and people were going home. It struck the waitress utterly odd that the man was drinking so much coffee at this time of the day, but being as respectful as she was, she didn't question this at all.

The man sighed a little and then took out his phone again. He opened a picture of a young man smiling at him. It was a school photo of a teen with black spiky hair and a scar underneath his left eye. The photo had been taken last year. The smile of the teen made the man's heart ache a little. He had been searching the whole summer, ever since the teen had magically disappeared from Tokyo. He knew he had scared the poor thing a little, especially when he had showed up outside his home and banged angrily at the door. He knew that it hadn't been the right thing to do but he had become so mad back then. Right now he only wanted to find him and apologize, so that they could be happily together again.

He loved him after all

* * *

~Thanks for Reading~


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Thanks everyone for the reviews! Mochi is really happy!**

**Lately Mochi has been feeling really down for many reasons and therefore writing has been off. But luckily Mochi is back now - fit for fight! **

**Mochi also got addicted to DRAMAtical Murder so she's been busy with that too. She apologizes. **

**samettikettu: don't worry ame-senpai, you always can English! :'D I'm still sorry for the mistake with Hannibal ;_;**

**Lunacii: Yay! I also like Lucci (samettikettu's fault that one) and he's going to play some parts in this fic ^ u ^ And yup, Ace is falliinng! Thanks for the review, love you!**

**LostFairyMantic: Wah! You are so kind! I was sneaky with Lucci, was I not? :) Thank you so much for the review, you're wonderful! :3**

**KitsuneNaru: And I love you for being so kind! x3**

**gaarablack: Fufu, don't worry there will be plenty of KidLaw in this fic (Mochi ships that so harddddggh) Luffy is just so adorable so it's only natural that people fall for him! :3 Thanks for the review!**

**Labyrinth-chan: Wah! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY YOU MADE ME. Really. You're just so kind and it makes me indescribably happy when someone's excited over my fics. If you wouldn't have reviewed I probably would have stopped writing fanfics. I LOVE YOU LABYRINTH-CHAN. **

**Jisca: Yes he is! It's draaaamaaaaa~ Thanks for your review Jisca-sama!**

**Dreamerall: Sorry for taking so long to update! I also am fond of love-triangles so! x3**

**GlOmP3R: Don't worry Glompie, there'll be plenty of KidLaw in this fic (even something small in this chappie) KidLaw is actually one of my many OTP:s Thanks for the review Glompie-sama! *sorry for the nickname :D*  
**

**fooshi11: *hides of embarrassment* Y-You're so kinds Fooshi-sama... You're making me blush..!**

**Jan: W-Well neither does you re-reviews make me happy b-baka! Just hug Lu-chan all you want, Jan-sama, fangirling is good for your soul (or maybe not xD) I love it how excited you are! It makes me all motivated! Thank you so much for reviewing and being so happy and wonderful! :3**

**Yorutsuki-Lunia: It's pure coincedence actually... O.O But yeah! Lucci loves Luffy! Thanks for your review, it made me happy! :)**

**Aofenis: Omg thanks for liking my story! *crying rainbows of happiness right now* Here's the next chapter!**

**Next time Mochi shall try to be faster at updating, she really shall try! And she thanks everyone who reviewed once more!**

**~Enjoy~**

* * *

She lay in her bed reading another interesting historical book. It was about the ancient Finnish belief Kalevala. The clock was past eight on a Saturday night and her husband had yet not arrived home. She knew that he'd be at work a long time this Saturday, sometimes he had to work a lot but then he could have a few weeks off. Currently the period consisting of only hard work occurred. She knew that this was his last long day and then he'd have two long weeks off. Unfortunately she had to continue her research with the newest archeological find, which meant that they still wouldn't be able to spend all of their time together.

The raven haired woman had decided to go early to bed this Saturday. There was nothing interesting on TV anyway and she was quite exhausted. So therefore she had taken a long, hot bath, then brushed her teeth and quickly put on her pajama only to crawl down underneath the blanket in her own comfy bed. She had lit the lamp on the nightstand beside her. And that was about the only light lit in the house right now. She was quite ecological and thought it was unnecessary to keep any other light on.

In the middle of the interesting tale about Väinämöinen and the other Old Norse characters, there was a loud crash. Glass splattered around on the floor, gliding down under the double bed. Her body flung up from the bed as she realized.

Someone had smashed the window open.

She stared at the man who was proceeding into the house. He had hit the window leading to the balcony with something that appeared to be a baseball bat. He was tall and wore black clothes, with a black mask on his face. Instead of proceeding to steal something, he proceeded closer to her.

Step after step.

She screamed.

* * *

So, it was official now. The autumn had now sneakily taken the first step. It had without hesitation colored the leaves in orange, brown, yellow and red. It was hard to stick out in all the bright colors. Whatever you would wear you would look bored compared to the leaves which Mother Nature's magical fingertips colored. However that suited him just fine. He wanted to melt away with the grayness of the buildings in the pitiful town. But he knew it was close to impossible for him, people always noticed him for his looks. He hated to be good-looking exactly for this reason. Wherever his feet would bring him he would never go unnoticed. He detested it deeply.

So in other words, Trafalgar Law never had bothered for looks. In fact, the last thing he would take notice to was someone's looks. Instead he would focus on looking for things that could reveal something of the individual's personality. Matching clothes, an iPhone, expensive bag, high heels and plain colors. His gray eyes looked at the dull girl passing by him. She was most likely the daughter to a rich business man and was spoilt to a level that was unbearable. Law decided that she most likely also had a dull personality.

Time had glided past quite fast this school year. The slim teenager still remembered how bored he had been when he the first time before the summer holiday had snuck out of the mansion. He remembered it so clearly that it felt like only yesterday. But the odd day when he had invited a certain redhead to the mansion, was kept as a blurry memory inside of his convoluted mind. He hadn't forgotten about the promise of a glass of Martini yet though. The redhead however seemed to have forgotten about this ludicrous promise. It all had been childish after all – Eustass Kidd was childish after all. Like he ever would have the balls to sneak out in the middle of the night. He claimed to be so tough though. Law highly suspected that Kidd was the kind of guy who bragged more than he actually did.

So why was even Trafalgar Law sauntering around in the park during this idyllic day? For once he hadn't sneakily made it out of the mansion without having the elders know about it. Actually, for once he had gotten the permission to go outside the mansion for another reason than school. Doffy had been in a good mood today when Law had wondered whether it was possible for him to take a stroll in the park in the middle of the town. Naturally the teen had said that he would study for an incoming test too, so that it would sound better. Doffy had said that it was fine – as long as Law wouldn't wander away from that park. Vergo had of course volunteered to look after the teen, and so the man sat on one of the benches keeping an eye on him.

And now you of course are stating the second inquiry. _Why. _Why would Law want to go outside to the park on a Sunday? Why had he even dared to ask? It could cause serious consequences when asking for something as selfish as this. Luckily Law had made sure that Doffy would be in a good mood. But why? Why go through the trouble to please the merciless man? It all had a very logical explanation. Today was nothing else but a normal Sunday. Or that was what everyone else would see. Today was anything but a normal Sunday.

This Sunday was _the day_.

For exactly eleven years it all had happened. Eleven years. He had been seven years old back then, only a mere child. But he had remembered the date when it all had occurred. He had asked to go to the park to reminiscence. This was where his parents would take him every Sunday for a picnic. Every Sunday except that last one. That one Sunday when he innocently had come downstairs only to find them. It had changed his life. Some policemen had been there. He had been woken up in the middle of the night. There had been weird loud noises from downstairs, like two boxes falling down to the floor, creating a loud and short sound. Or like two balloons popping after each other.

Bang, bang.

The nice police had looked down at him and told him everything would be fine. He had answered that naturally everything was going to be fine. Why were there polices in the house? Were they here to play with him? He had asked the police who just had smiled kindly while she had pulled a lock of straight blond hair behind her ear. She just had kept saying that everything was fine. And that was when he had seen them.

So as you can see, Trafalgar Law had a valid reason. He knew that Doffy never would let him go to the graveyard to visit them properly. Doffy had a reason too. Law understood it. He understood why he even lived in the mansion. He owed the man that, after what his parents had made the man suffer through. Law knew he owed his life to Doffy.

Despite this, Law still thought about his parents a lot. He had loved them, even though they had made the uncanny man suffer. He couldn't hate them for it. He simply couldn't. He loved his parents and wanted to devote some time to them too, even though most of his time went to school and other things which he didn't want to discuss about. Law didn't believe in any specific religion – but he believed his parents would be disappointed in him if he wouldn't think of them every now and then. He knew that dead people couldn't be disappointed, it was biologically impossible, but he still thought that they'd be. There were worse things they could be disappointed with however. He didn't even want to imagine how disappointed they'd be if they knew what he devoted his life to, for example.

The tall thin youth kept on sauntering around in the park with its glorious colors. This Sunday was delightfully sunny. It almost felt like his parents were smiling down at him from the sky. Maybe they were? They wouldn't be if they'd know, though. Law smiled back up at the sky carefully, trying not to look as if he was mentally unstable or something. He took a deep breath of the refreshing air, letting it his fill his nostrils which pushed it further down to his lungs which in their turn let the oxygen fill his erythrocytes. He felt somewhat at peace, even though Vergo's piercing eyes were neatly observing him behind from the black sunglasses. Law walked a bit more, to then sit down on a bench that was hidden behind a tree so that Vergo couldn't keep on staring at him with his creepy eyes.

The slim teen closed his eyes and let his thoughts travel away to the days when he still had been happy and pure. He remembered his mother's sweet voice and his father's murmuring chuckle. He remembered the big hands wrapped around his small ones. In the middle of his nostalgic thoughts, someone sat down next to him.

"Yo."

He recognized the voice immediately. Eustass Kidd. What was a punk like him doing in the park on an idyllic Sunday like this? Law opened his eyes slowly and looked at the redhead grinning at him. He was holding two hot dogs in his hand, offering one to Law.

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

There occurred a small silence – a very awkward silence - where both of them slowly ate their own hot dog. Kidd started to chuckle when he noticed how the gloomy youth wouldn't it the bun. He only ate the sausage in the middle.

"I hate bread", Law said sloppily, explaining the situation to Kidd who grinned again. Law gave the hot dog bun to the redhead who ate it without trouble. The redhead seemed a bit nervous and – was he really? – bitter? Weird. Why was he bitter? Actually, Law should be the bitter one here, Kidd had yet not paid him his drink.

Another awkward silence filled the air. Some small birds would spread their wings and fly over the blue sky, obviously escaping to a warmer climate further north. Law hoped he could do the same someday too. Just escape from everything. Even reality.

"Why did you tell me to fuck off?"

The question came casually.

"What?" Law was caught dumbfounded. He had never said anything like that to the redhead. Ever. The gloomy youth let his brain work as he looked at the redhead with serious eyes. "I don't remember offending you like that, Eustass-ya."

"I asked you when and where to meet on KiK. You replied with fuck off", Kidd help up his phone, showing a message that indeed had been sent from Law's user on the app. There was added an emoticon that looked angry too. Law didn't remember sending the redhead anything like that. He kept on looking at the redhead with confusion. Then it hit him!

Vergo. Vergo had taken his phone after that Eustass had been over. He had said that it was for the best; Law should focus on studying. Law wasn't stupid though. He knew exactly why Vergo had taken the phone away from him. They didn't want people to get involved with what actually was happening inside of the vigorous walls protecting the house. They didn't want Law to have any friends – not any male friends, not any female friends. They wanted Law to stay imprisoned from the outside world by forbidding him to have contact with anyone else from it. The dumb bastards didn't even realize that he would sneak out some nights.

"Well I can sincerely say that I never sent you anything like that", Law said and looked at the redhead who put the phone back into his pocket. The gloomy teen had a somewhat hard time to read the expression on the redhead's face. "I think some of my friends tried to pull a prank on me. I was really wasted you see, and they took my phone. I still haven't got it back from them. It's starting to get on my nerves. And they are also quite possessive, so they don't like it when I get new acquaints."

"Is that so? Pretty sick friends you have there", the redhead said, sounding a tad angry. Well of course he was. He had tried to be nice to Law and as a reply he had received a small little nice 'fuck off'. Vergo had been smart though, Law gave him that. He had been able to answer the message with something that Law would answer with. Naturally Law had been smart enough to erase all his conversations with Shachi and the others from his KiK. He did that every time they stopped messaging. He didn't want Vergo – or even less Doffy – to know about his nocturnal journeys to the jazz bars downtown. He could only imagine what kind of punishment he could receive.

"But I'm free this Friday", Law said quickly, trying to brighten up the atmosphere. He knew that Doffy was going on a business trip from Friday to Sunday the incoming week. In other words, he was free to sneak out from the mansion. No one would notice. He only had to be back by six o'clock the next morning when Vergo usually would peek into his room to make sure that he was there. Law had noticed this procedure of course.

"This Friday? I guess I'm free too", Kidd tried to sound nonchalant and somewhat uninterested. He didn't want to show the other one how goddamn excited he was. He swore to god that he would dance a small victory dance on the way back home. Oh wait. He didn't want back home. He had come to the park to avoid dad after all. "Where should we meet?"

"Come to the school. We'll meet there. I'll be there somewhere around midnight."

"Midnight? Alright", Kidd got up from the bench. He had to go now, otherwise things would just get awkward. He could as well go to some café or something. "See you then Trafalgar."

"Yeah. See you."

* * *

Outside was dark. The lights from the town made the dark blue sky illuminate, which in turn made the stars fade away a little. Luckily there was much less lights here than it had been in Tokyo, so the stars were more visible here. Luffy had recognized that the first night he had arrived to the town. Now he had lived here for a few months, getting used to the pace of the place. He had completely fallen into his role as a girl and gramps had just been over two times during this long period. So in other words, things were pretty awesome right now. Especially since Nami was over for the night. Even though it was Sunday, Nami would sleep over. She'd leave the next evening, doing some shopping in the town and then eating dinner with Luffy before leaving. Her school was having a project period and the incoming week was the last week to finish your undone projects. Nami was done with everything, so she had asked her sister to call her homeroom teacher and tell her Nami was sick. In other words, Nami had just received a day off from school due to hard work.

Currently the two youngsters sat on the sofa in the living room, eating pizza and talking to each other eagerly, while music was played from the stereo. It was a band that Luffy hadn't heard of before, but Nami had brought the CD with her, so what the hell. The music wasn't so loud though, they wanted to communicate with each other after all. Nami laughed at something Luffy had said while the young male took a bite of the delicious pizza.

"Well, how have things been back in Tokyo then?" the teen with his black hair asked. He had been waiting to ask this, since he had noticed that there had been something odd with his friend. She doubted that Nami really would beg for a day off from school only to visit him. Though she detested the place, she still cared for her grades and would never let a day pass without a valid reason. And she had seemed really nervous the whole night.

"Fine, actually. Though we all are missing you", Nami said and looked into her friend's eyes. She could tell that he had noticed that something was wrong with her. She knew that she had to tell him, that's why she had come in first place. "When you sent me your school photo, I showed it to Sanji first, before telling him it was you. He asked who the lovely young lady was, before he looked closer and recognized you. We are still teasing him because of it."

"Really? That means that I really look like a girl!" Luffy laughed sheepishly. If he had managed to fool Sanji, then he could fool anyone with his disguise! He really was a genius , wasn't he? "What about Zoro? Did I fool him too?"

"Of course not. He recognized you right away. He misses you the most by the way, and he'd like to talk about how things ended with you two", the orange-haired young woman gave her friend a meaningful glance. "He wants to get back together with you again. He hasn't said so, but I can tell. I mean, you broke up because of the distance caused by the move and stuff, so I guess he feels pretty devastated because of the reason… If it wasn't for your grandfather's stupid idea you two would be passionately making out right now."

Luffy's cheeks heated up a little. He liked Zoro – or at least had liked – but now with the mysterious freckled guy he wasn't so sure anymore. Luffy had seen him a few times in the corridors but they had never interacted. Despite this, Luffy still was getting more and more drawn to him each time their eyes would meet.

"I miss Zoro too, a lot but…"

"But?"

"There's this new guy-"

"New guy?! Why haven't you told me anything?! Wait… Does he think you're a girl?"

"Yeah, that's the issue", the male nodded while he continued to eat the pizza slice casually. In the corner of his eye he could see how Nami face-palmed and sighed. "He plays in the school's basketball team, has freckles, is about 6 feet tall and has gorgeous eyes. He's repeating one year but he's really mature and cool and handsome. And he has awesome muscles. I mean really. Unfortunately he likes girls."

"Luffy… I told you the idea to go around pretending you're a girl is stupid… You didn't think of the problem that you'd fall in love with a guy either!? What if he's interested in you too and you can't stop yourself and when he gets all excited and… you know… Then he'll definitely notice that you're a dude!" Nami exclaimed angrily. She still didn't support his idea though she had helped him to buy better clothes and stuff. And they had together tried to come up with something so that Garp wouldn't slay Luffy on his graduation day on the spring when the old man definitely would discover the whole truth. Nami's solution had been to arrange some crime somewhere so that the man would be busy solving it.

"Don't worry Nami! I have things under control! Besides, that doesn't worry me as much as this weird lady trying to follow me home every day…"

"Say what!?"

"Yeah, her name is Hammock or whatever and she's also repeating a year. She has been following me around ever since I gave her my eraser. At first she broke my pen but Torao fixed it and I figured out that Hammock was having a bad day so I gave her my eraser to make her happier", Luffy explained the whole story happily, as if there was nothing odd with it. Nami didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How could someone be so ignorant, innocent and dumb at the same time?!

"Well at least you have that Torao-guy as your friend right?" the graceful girl sighed while she gave up with trying to make Luffy less innocent. Hell, the guy had been going out with someone and he still couldn't tell when things were getting creepy and when things were normal.

"Yup! Though Torao never can hang out after school… It's a pity since he is without doubt the nicest guy at school!" the childish teen nodded eagerly at his own statement. "He always gives me his dessert!"

"Sounds like a gentleman to me", Nami said while she smiled gently at her friend. Then the sound of their voices talking died out. Neither of them spoke while a gentle beat from the music was playing around in the apartment. Nami decided that now was a good time to bring her actual reason for coming up. "Robin is in the hospital."

"What?!" suddenly Luffy's usual childish behavior was gone. Robin was in the hospital. Why? What had happened? He was suddenly scared to death. Why hadn't they told him anything? Was she going to be alright? "What happened?! Why didn't you tell me anything?! Will she be alr-"

"She…" the serious and anxious tone made him quiet down. His eyes weren't silent though, they kept on attacking the graceful girl with questioning glances. "She was attacked."

"What!? By who!? I'm going to beat that bastard up right away! When does the first train to Tokyo leave?!" Luffy had by then stood up from the sofa, proceeding out from the apartment, already with his jacket in his hands.

"Luffy, listen to me", Nami also got up and stopped him before he was able to leave. The graceful girl could see the clear anger burning in his eyes, but he had to listen to her. "You can't go. There is something odd with this story, that's why I came to tell you before someone else did. You can't come to Tokyo for now. We'll come here instead."

"What do you mean odd?" the male had calmed down a little now, he backed away from the front door and turned around to look at his friend properly.

"Odd? There is quite a lot odd with the fact that someone broke into her and Franky's house on a Saturday night and attacked her when she was reading a book. The culprit broke a window with a baseball bat and attacked Robin trying to make her tell him your whereabouts. There's quite a lot saying that this whole story smells fishy. You should stay away from Tokyo for now. Someone's after you", Nami gave her dear friend another meaningful glance. They both were pretty sure who. Hearing this Luffy put the jacket away and went back into the living room only to collapse on the sofa with a dumbfounded expression. Nami sat down next to her friend carefully. "Franky came home a few minutes after that the man had broken in. He managed to stop him from hurting Robin any further. They weren't able to identify him though, he managed to escape too. Robin got away with a broken arm and several bruises. Her right eye is blocked because of the swelling caused by a bruise. She could practically go home, but the doctors insist that she'd stay a few days more because of the concussion she received from the beating. Do you now understand why we don't want you to come to Tokyo anymore?"

Luffy stared at Nami for a long while before he just sighed. The music was still playing gently in the background, but it now mostly sounded awkward because of the serious situation. Nami could tell that her friend was thinking of the issue with a lot of care tangled with his thoughts. He most likely wanted to go and visit Robin and beat the bastard up, but he also understood that this would only cause more trouble.

"We all promised that we wouldn't walk alone anywhere anymore. And whenever we all want to come and visit you, we naturally won't leave at the same time. We'll have to take different vehicles and leave different days. It's complicated but we don't want that man to get close to you anymore", the graceful young woman spoke with an unusual soft tone. She looked at her friend that obviously was lost with the situation. "It's going to be alright Luffy. We are going to stay safe, everyone. I assure you that. They just stroke us by surprise okay? Trust us on this one."

There was a long pause. The music would continue to let its tones and beats fill the big apartment as Luffy continued to ponder on what he just had been told. He felt guilty. He made his friends go through pain. But he also knew that they'd go through pain if he himself was hurt. It was a dilemma. Whatever he would choose would cause pain to them.

"…Fine. I will. But if any of you get hurt again I swear I am going to kill him and his companions!" the orange-haired woman knew that Luffy wasn't kidding when he was saying this. Though he only trained ballet, he could be violent when he needed to. And he was strong; all the hard training had made him gain some muscle after all. He was also good at enduring pain, mostly because Garp would beat him up some times. He had most likely grown used to pain after a while. Actually it was horrible. To think that someone was _used _to pain.

"I know you will", the young woman chuckled softly at her friend and slowly the earlier nice atmosphere was returning. "But let's talk about something else, something less sad. Anything else interesting going on in your school?"

"Yeah, your elder brother goes there", Luffy smiled.

Very few knew this, but Nami really had an elder brother, who she was biologically related to. Once they had all been a happy family, Nojiko, the only adopted child, Nami and her elder brother, Bell-mère and the biological father of Nami and the brother. But then something just had gone horribly wrong. Luffy didn't know any details, and wasn't curious of knowing either, but he knew that Bell-mère had died and that Nojiko had fled with Nami. Back then Nojiko had only been thirteen and Nami ten. They had taken the first train to Tokyo and lived with a nice ossan called Genzo, someone who Bell-mère had known very well. For some reason the elder brother had stayed behind.

"He stares at me sometimes. He has never met me before, but he still does. Ah! It might be because I'm a girl in school! I've noticed that more guys stare at me now that I'm girl!"

Nami laughed at Luffy's bluntness. He really knew how to change the mood quickly. This was mostly because he was the happy person he was. He had that magical ability to always make things better.

Nami wondered how things were with her brother anyway. She knew he had repeated a year in school that year when Bell-mère had passed away. But that was most likely due to stress and pain. He would graduate this year, hopefully. She hadn't known that they had moved here though. Her father and he, she meant. She felt like going over to her brother and talk with him, but she was also scared to death of her father. And she couldn't forgive her brother for staying with the brute. He should just have run away with them. But something had stopped him. It had most likely been pity. Or fear. Anyway, it would be weird for her to just show up by their front door after not having any contact with them for years. She decided that it was for the best to keep things that way. She missed her brother, but she really thought that it was for the best if she didn't meet him anymore.

"So my brother goes there? Well, anything else?"

"Umm… Yeah! There's this really kind girl – Vivi – who runs the ballet club in school! She has blue hair and is pretty smart! She was pretty boring and strict in the beginning, but she has changed and opened up now. I think she'd get along really well with all of you too!"

"Really? You should introduce her to us one day in that case."

And so the evening progressed with happier sounds echoing throughout the apartment again. No one would talk about the hospitalized Robin, though they both dedicated most of their thoughts to her.

* * *

Darkness had conquered the sky and only small pitiful stars would light it up, along with the moon that desperately tried to hide behind some of the dark clouds passing by. Luckily the town wasn't as dark, the streetlights were on and from each window some light would escape out. There was a biting cold floating around in the streets, mixed with a faint fog. The colorful leaves would most likely be frosty the next morning. Autumn had arrived, but everyone knew that when autumn had come, there wasn't many weeks before the first frosty crystals would fall down from the sky. It was a tad sad, everyone would miss the warmth of the summer. But then again, winter had its good sides too. And you simply couldn't hate Christmas.

He sat in the bus. Every Sunday he would go to the public swimming pool to swim a few laps. Otherwise he would settle with going to the gym regularly and take a small jog around the town every now and then. Now that he also had joined the basketball team he had more training sessions than usual, which only fitted him. Training was one of the few things that he genuinely still enjoyed in life.

His eyes stared at the streetlights racing by, letting his thoughts wander away from the bus. He thought about the last weeks, how much better he had done in school and that he would most likely do better in the incoming tests too. He thought about how he finally would graduate this year and how his future would turn out. And he thought about the ballet dancing girl – Lucy – with her thin delicate body and the ludicrous dresses.

Ace had once stayed after school to secretly look at her from the locker room. And their gazes had met a few times in the corridors too. He didn't know why he was drawn to her, she was very odd and wasn't even curvy and womanly like he usually liked women to be. Actually she had a quite boyish body and haircut. But then again, she had a really feminine style. Dresses, necklaces, skirts, cute T-shirts. Ace still didn't understand his weird feelings towards the childish girl. He thought he was slowly going mad.

He had recognized how Lucy would hang out with Trafalgar Law a lot. Naturally Ace knew the name of the genius in the school. Not only once had the gloomy kid been asked to step up during the scholarship announcement for having the best grades in school. A small jealousy swelled up inside of the freckled youth, but he ignored it. Lucy wouldn't like someone as boring and as nerdy as Trafalgar anyway, who would? He was really boring and most likely only a stupid wiseacre anyway. Lucy most likely only hanged out with him because she pitied him. Yeah, that was a good reason.

The muscular youth had also noticed that Boa Hancock was really fond of Lucy. Was she lesbian or something? Ace had always thought her hatred towards men had been really odd, so that was probably the reason. Lucy herself seemed more like asexual - if she even was anything besides heterosexual. Actually, Ace couldn't picture the girl anything but heterosexual. And he had noticed the dreamy look in her eyes when they eyes would meet. Maybe she liked Ace back?

Wait no.

Ace had already agreed with himself that he wouldn't fall in love with someone as boyish and weird as Lucy. He liked curvy and beautiful women, like Boa Hancock. But he didn't like odd, slightly nerdy girls who wore stupid clothes and were completely flat-chested. What was even wrong with him in first hand? Why was he attracted to a girl who looked more like a boy than a girl? He wasn't some kind of fucking faggot! Maybe he wasn't attracted after all. Maybe he just was dumbfounded by her silliness. Yes that must be it.

Instead of stopping by the bus stop closest to his apartment, he continued to calmly remain seated. He wasn't on his way home after all, tonight he would go over to Marco's place. Marco had been concerned about him and had asked Ace to come over for food and to report to the tanned man how things were going. At first Ace hadn't been willing to come, it felt stupid to come over to Marco's and eat his food and then leave. But then Marco had insisted; he said he wanted to hang out with Ace since they hadn't seen each other for the past weeks. That was an acceptable reason to come over in Ace's opinion. He wouldn't go over to someone else's place and shamelessly eat their food.

A few stops after his own, Ace finally got off and started to walk to the block of flats where Marco lived. Marco lived in the richer part of the town, in a more beautiful and spacey apartment than Ace ever could dream of. This was most likely because the man was one of the leading characters in the Whitebeard Company. He earned quite the sum of money because of this. Ace pressed the buzzer next to the door leading in to the block of flats. The biting coldness forced itself into Ace's nostrils, making them sting uncomfortably. Soon the small noise that the door was opened was heard. Marco knew that it was Ace down there, by the door. The freckled one had made sure to text the blonde one when stepping out of the bus after all.

His steps echoed when he walked up for the stairs. The lights were lit automatically when someone walked into the block of flats, so he didn't have to walk in complete obscurity and neither did he have to look for any switch. Soon he reached the fifth floor where Marco had his apartment. He carefully rang the doorbell and then waited a while for the man to open the door. It didn't take long before Marco opened the door and was smiling happily at him.

"Yo, Marco", Ace said and walked in, waving at his friend at the same time.

"You were swimming like usual?" the blonde male inquired while he shut the front door behind the younger one. He looked at Ace who took off his coat and scarf, along with his shoes.

"Yeah, just like every other Sunday. So what did you make for dinner?" Ace sniffed in the air, he was hungry. He was trying to save money by skipping lunch during weekends, so it was only natural that he was starving right now. "I'm starving."

"I'm making some chanterelle pasta with mozzarella salad. The pasta is still being cooked", Marco smiled at the freckled one and took his coat to hang it up for him. Ace put his training bag on the floor and walked into the living room, collapsing on the sofa. "Tired huh?"

"You bet", the freckled one sighed and rubbed his hand against his forehead. He was pretty tired and the incoming tests were also stressing him a lot. And the weird feelings around Lucy – which totally were not attraction – were also bothering him. The thing that bothered him the most were the nightmares who shamelessly had come back to haunt him.

"Why is that? Are you sleeping unwell? If it's because the uncomfortable bed you have, there's room in my bed too", Marco knew that Ace would never catch the suggestive sentence. He would take it as a friendly offer. Poor thing was really dumb. Maybe too dumb for his own good sometimes too.

"Nah, the bed is fine, I've just had trouble with sleeping lately", it sounded like he was sorry for not sleeping well. It was weird how Ace managed to make it sound as if he was sorry for most of the things he said. Marco knew it was because of his aspect of life. In Ace's opinion he was someone who never should have been born, someone who should keep on apologizing for existing. It was twisted when you thought about it.

"Nightmares again, huh?" the tanned man with his sea blue eyes asked carefully. Ace had told him about the nightmares once. Ever since then Marco had grown to be slightly obsessed with taking care of Ace. He wanted the freckled youth to feel better, he didn't want him to continue dwelling in the current pain he was in.

"Yeah…" the confession was quiet and pitiful. He didn't want to discuss the matter more, it was crystal clear. Marco eyed the freckled young man with anxiety in his eyes, signaling him that he could open up if there was something he wanted to talk about.

Marco knew, however, that Ace rarely opened up and that tonight was a night when he just would keep quiet about his sorrow.

"Well, I think the pasta should be done by now. Let's go eat."

"Yeah, I really am starving."

* * *

~Thanks for Reading~


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